Welcome to Issue #5!
Hello, lovelies! It feels like it’s been so, so long and I am so happy to be back!
Last week, I didn’t feel very well so Xiaolong kindly took over for me! Her costume was so adorable and very convincing – hehe!
This week I went on a little adventure through the dandelion forest and up the mossy hills of the mosquitoes. They were very friendly and invited me for tea where they kindly told me some of the book news they had heard from the bumbly bees of bumble. It was so lovely visiting them and I can’t wait to share the book news they told me to you! I hope you enjoy!
❤ Stella
Book Releases This Week [June 17th – June 23rd]
Hungry Hearts: 13 Tales of Food and Love edited by Elsie Chapman and Caroline Tung Richmond
From some of your favorite bestselling and critically acclaimed authors—including Sandhya Menon, Anna-Marie McLemore, and Rin Chupeco—comes a collection of interconnected short stories that explore the intersection of family, culture, and food in the lives of thirteen teens.
A shy teenager attempts to express how she really feels through the confections she makes at her family’s pasteleria. A tourist from Montenegro desperately seeks a magic soup dumpling that could cure his fear of death. An aspiring chef realizes that butter and soul are the key ingredients to win a cooking competition that could win him the money to save his mother’s life.
Welcome to Hungry Hearts Row, where the answers to most of life’s hard questions are kneaded, rolled, baked. Where a typical greeting is, “Have you had anything to eat?” Where magic and food and love are sometimes one and the same.
Told in interconnected short stories, Hungry Hearts explores the many meanings food can take on beyond mere nourishment. It can symbolize love and despair, family and culture, belonging and home.
I am so excited to read this beautiful and scrumptious anthology! CW has praised this book so much I absolutely have to get my hands on this beautiful piece of art pronto! It sounds so adorable! Ahhhhhh!!!
Releases on the 18th of June 2019. Add this book on Goodreads
Patron Saints of Nothing by Randy Ribay
A powerful coming-of-age story about grief, guilt, and the risks a Filipino-American teenager takes to uncover the truth about his cousin’s murder.
Jay Reguero plans to spend the last semester of his senior year playing video games before heading to the University of Michigan in the fall. But when he discovers that his Filipino cousin Jun was murdered as part of President Duterte’s war on drugs, and no one in the family wants to talk about what happened, Jay travels to the Philippines to find out the real story.
Hoping to uncover more about Jun and the events that led to his death, Jay is forced to reckon with the many sides of his cousin before he can face the whole horrible truth — and the part he played in it.
As gripping as it is lyrical, Patron Saints of Nothing is a page-turning portrayal of the struggle to reconcile faith, family, and immigrant identity.
I’ve read Randy’s last book, After The Shot Drops and I liked it a lot so, I can’t wait to pick this amazing looking book! I’ve never read a based in the Philippines and I’d actually love to visit it in the future so I’d love to read about it!
Releases on the !8th of June 2019. Add this book on Goodreads
All of Us with Wings by Michelle Ruiz Keil
Michelle Ruiz Keil’s YA fantasy debut about love, found family, and healing is an ode to post-punk San Francisco through the eyes of a Mexican-American girl.
Seventeen-year-old Xochi is alone in San Francisco, running from her painful past: the mother who abandoned her, the man who betrayed her. Then one day, she meets Pallas, a precocious twelve-year-old who lives with her rockstar family in one of the city’s storybook Victorians. Xochi accepts a position as Pallas’s live-in governess and quickly finds her place in their household, which is relaxed and happy despite the band’s larger-than-life fame.
But on the night of the Vernal Equinox, as a concert afterparty rages in the house below, Xochi and Pallas accidentally summon a pair of ancient creatures devoted to avenging the wrongs of Xochi’s adolescence. She would do anything to preserve her new life, but with the creatures determined to exact vengeance on those who’ve hurt her, no one is safe—not the family she’s chosen, nor the one she left behind.
I am just so pumped to read ‘All of Us with Wings’ and I love the fantastical twist! The cover for this book is just absolutely gorgeous which means I need it ten times more than I thought I did before! It’s going to be such a great read, I just know it!
Releases on the 18th of June 2019. Add this book on Goodreads
Book News
Cover Reveal: Don’t Read The Comments by Eric Smith
Ohhhh, my goshhhh!! This sounds amazing and I am so sad that I will have to wait so very long to read ‘Don’t Read The Comments’ but it’ll be worth it once I finally get to have a copy in my hands because this cover is just do simple and beautiful – wow!
Book Announcement: Witches Steeped in Gold by Ciannon Smart
‘Witches Steeped in Gold’ sounds absolutely fantastic! I love fantasy and this sounds soo good! I can’t wait to see the cover for this book and I hope it lives up to the synopsis! IT JUST SOUNDS SO GOOD!
Book Announcement: That Thing About Hollywood by Supriya Kulkar
Bollywood is such a magical part of the film industry so to see that in writing is going to be so much fun! I can’t wait to see how the songs and dances will blend into the story. I’m so excited – ah!
Graphic Novel Announcement: Saving Chupie by Amparo Ortiz & Ronnie Garcia
Yessss this sounds amazing! I really can’t wait to see the illustrations. Unfortunately, we have to wait so long but, it’s okay because in the end, we’re going to get a beautiful graphic novel and I’m so excited!
Book Announcement: The Ghosts We Keep by Mason Deaver
Guess who is going to have all of the emotions when reading this? The answer is, me! My friends who have read Mason’s work have said it’s really good so I can’t wait to read their work!
Cover Reveal: We Unleash The Merciless Storm by Tehlor Kay Mejia
I’m currently read ‘We Set The Dark On Fire’ and so far, it’s really good! I can’t wait to finish it and start the second book when it’s released! The cover for both the first and second books are so beautiful- wow!
Book Announcement: Nigeria Jones by Ibi Zoboi
I love the sound of the time travelling it’s such a cool concept to add to historical fiction! I can’t wait to see the cover for this book It’s going to be amazing and I can’t wait to get my hands on a physical copy!
Book Community Spotlight
Book Blogger: Caitlin Althea
Caitlin is such a bubbly and great blogger and has an adorable dog named Gordon. She 
currently resides in the Phillippines which is funny because I was just talking about how I’d love to visit! Her blog consists of book reviews, wrap-ups, recommendations, book tags and more! I love the bright flower theme she put together it makes me feel so happy! You should definitely check out her blog. Her latest post was ‘If You Liked This Queer Contemporary, Try This Queer SFF!’ and it’s so good I’m definitely going to check out her recommendations! You can also follow her on her Goodreads and Twitter!
Bookstagrammer: readwithtee
https://www.instagram.com/p/BypT8VpgxBc/
If superpowers existed Tionna would probably have the superpower of taking the most beautiful Instagram photos I have ever laid my eyes upon. Her photos are so beautiful and so is her editing I love how she uses so much colour without it being overpowering and how all her photos brighten up Instagram timeline! wow! I just love all of her photos and you should definitely give her a follow!
Booktuber: xonikkee
Nikki is such a great booktuber and has such a positive vibe! I love all of her videos and her whole colourful aesthetic. She’s so sweet and I love how she makes you feel so welcome and a part of her little booktube family. Her latest video was ‘1k subscribers + booktube anniversary q&a announcement’ and it was so good I loved watching it! You can also follow her on her Twitter, Instagram and on her blog!
The Quiet Pond 
thanks for all of your kind words 😭😭❤❤❤❤ I’m really hoping that you do get to visit the Philippines, because I think it’s gonna be a wILD experience for you! I’m also highly anticipating getting to read Patron Saints of Nothing because I’ve actually read no young adult books set in the Philippines or about the ejk here. I also loved WE set the dark on fire so much and when the cover revealed, I was ecstatic and so so pleased with the design and color scheme they went with! I haven’t even read I Wish You All the Best by Mason Deaver yet (though i really really want to), but I’m already hyped for their new book! I agree that the cover for All of Us With Wings is gorgeous, and it seems like such an important and magical read. Great post as always 😍❣
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