so-soAbsolutely beautiful writing and I loved the representation. But I didn't love the characters or the story as much as I was hoping to. I am interested in reading more by the author.
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Wild Beauty | 
so-soAbsolutely beautiful writing and I loved the representation. But I didn't love the characters or the story as much as I was hoping to. I am interested in reading more by the author.
so-soThis book follows the Nomeolvides women, who have the power to grow flowers with their hands, but also suffer from a curse that makes their loved ones disappear. The story is set in a beautiful estate owned by the Briar family, where the Nomeolvides women have been working as gardeners. One day, the cousins discover that they are all in love with Bay Briar, the heiress of La Pradera, and they fear that she will vanish because of their curse.
bailed1⭐️ I was doing so good with my #TrappedOnAnIsland reads for August. They were all so good, until this one. And I tried, I can‘t even tell you how much I try to finish this book. Got to where I only have 75 pages left, And I just couldn‘t do it. So many other books out there worth reading to put myself to some thing that I was miserable trying to finish. I know people will love this book, it just wasn‘t for me. DNF
"Her heart was poison. It was a close tangle of thorns. Even when it held love, that love came sharp, and she didn‘t know how to offer it to anyone except with the edges out."
"How he looked didn‘t matter to him. In a man, not caring was a draw, a mark of confidence. In Estrella, who‘d worn her eyeliner until it smudged and her ball dress until it wilted, the same not-trying looked sloppy. What shamed a girl was, in a boy, so often worth showing off."
"That night, behind the door of that room they had put him in, he broke open. All the color, all the things he did not know, the paths of scarring under his fingers, broke him open. He bit the backs of his hands so he would not cry onto the wooden horses."
"They had pretended they were there to clean it, and because men who stood so proud in pressed slacks and wrinkled shirts were used to having brown-skinned women wait on them, he seemed not to notice."
"Every woman in this house had inherited it, the same way they had inherited the loss and broken hearts written into their blood."
"Dalia‘s words came broken. They rose between sobs a few at a time. Estrella caught them and strung them together."
"But now he wanted this. He wanted this painted world that thrilled him even as it frightened him. He wanted to understand the language of women who laughed with tears dampening their cheeks, even if he would never speak it. He wanted the color of this unknown life. He wanted to grow the kind of bright, fearless heart that lived in this girl."
"She turned back, so quickly Reid did not notice. She kissed her fingertips and blew air over her palms at her cousins. It made her look like she was starting off on a trip and would bring them all back glittering stories as souvenirs."
so-so⭐️⭐️⭐️ This was entertaining enough to keep reading but not a favorite. It was kind of like reading a fairytale and I appreciated the diversity included. I enjoyed the bits of magic and the story was complex enough. Maybe it‘s because it‘s YA, but I just couldn‘t care that much about the characters. This was from #myTBR
#getTBR
bailedI think this is the second #bookspin pic I‘m dnfing and I feel so guilty about it cause I did that with last weeks pic. But this writing style just isn‘t for me.
pick"...hearts that loved boys and girls were no more reckless or easily won than any other heart. They loved who they loved. They broke how they broke."
Beautiful cover, beautiful language, beautiful imagery, and beautiful queer representation. Words cannot describe my emotions after finishing this perfection of a book ? #magicalrealism #lgbtq #YA
#7Days7Covers #CoverCrush Day 7
7 days, 7 covers you love. No explanation desired or required.
Feel free to play along! Consider yourself "tagged".
@Hooked_on_books - last one ? And I had to include the title page.
#7days7covers #CoverCrush Day 5
Designed/created by https://www.instagram.com/dmazzelladibosco/?hl=en
To be fair, ALL of Anna-Marie McLemore's covers are BEAUTIFUL, but this one's my favorite, as of September 2019. 🤓
pickReally magical and sweet. I love the nature magic in this book. Love the characters and how they develop. They deserve only happiness.
pickI love everything about this spellbinding book! Will be reading more of McLemore‘s books 📚 🥰
Such a gorgeous day to read outside! 🥰
April‘s brought showers and lots of blue while May brings all these beautiful flowers! Technically “floral” is not a color but it is for this month haha. #readmorefloral #mayflowerreads #floralisacolorthismonth
pick⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This book has been on my shelves forever because I thought it was a fae story. I was wrong. It‘s a beautiful tale of love and family with a delightful addition of magical realism. I loved it.
#OWLsReadathon2019: Herbology (plants on cover)
Gave myself a reading challenge, 39 books in 39 weeks. Started April 1st ending December 31st.
Week 1: A book with flowers on the cover.
I chose Wild Beauty by Anne-Marie McLemore because of it's beautiful cover 🌺
I really enjoyed this book! I went in blind and was pleasantly surprised with the storyline 🥀
Still one of my favorite covers of all times! And a few of my plant babies decided they wanted to say hi as well. #floralbooks #plantsoflitsy
pickA beautifully written and lyrically descriptive book. If you like gardening you‘ll LOVE the setting of Wild Beauty (honestly even if you don‘t like gardening you‘ll still like it). The plot is simultaneously one of simple nothings and also a deep underlying mystery, which come together to create a dark and complex narrative that draws you in without you even being aware.
so-soWhile the writing was lovely, the story and characters itself felt lacking. A lot of the side characters weren't fleshed out and the sisters all blended together a lot of the time. I feel like if the characters had been more defined then the book would have been great.
Second book of 2019! Perfect for a summer day by the pool #aussielife
This is such a magical book, I'm loving all the aesthetics and the lush storyline🌺🌹✨✨
Today I'm starting this, hopefully I will finish it before the awesome readathon VICTOBER starts!!
Anybody else planning to join in with Victober?
If you are interested, check out my TBR and all the info you need to know on my blog.
https://allyoureadislovehome.wordpress.com/2018/09/04/victober-2018-has-been-ann...
😁😁😁
1. Wild Beauty by Anna-Marie McLemore
2. Romance or sci-fi
3. Yes! 2 pit bulls (Blue and Griz), 2 chihuahuas (Pigums and Finley Nelson), 2 cats (Ronan and Anne), and my cemetery baby, Gansey (I found him in a cemetery when he was just a few weeks old. No idea what he is besides handsome af)
4. About 14000. Smallish.
#sundaysurvey @alisonrose
pick4.5/5 🌟 so beautiful! I read the majority of this but I did listen to a few chapters while doing a few errands. Really good!!! I was quite surprised with how much I loved the writing and the story. There were a few tears near the end too!
pickAnd sometimes you finish the last three pages of a lovely book while eating noodles with black truffle burrata at 3:30am because you sort of forgot you were hungry for four or so hours. I‘ll take it. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Every so often I‘m reminded of this segment from This American Life. I always think that it‘s the poem that gets me, but it‘s really the end of the piece that‘s ABOUT the poem. https://youtu.be/KGOdikvMDho
A bit of journaling and possibly finishing this book on my lunch break. On my giant beanbag, in the sunny patch on the living room floor. I may be a cat. 😻
“As though their daughters loving men and women meant they wanted all of them in the world. There was no way to tell their mothers the truth and make them believe it, that hearts that loved boys and girls were no more reckless or easily won than any other heart.” #queerbooks
Switched to my hardcover read. The fog and foghorns are excellent accompaniments to the haunting storytelling, not quite eerie, but otherworldly. This is why we endure February. #Maine #Summer #reversereadathon #readathon
Oh Anna-Marie, the way you write queerness is just so right.
“And how she shared her laughter, her true, fluttering laugh, with boys who could more easily be called pretty than handsome.” #queerbooks #ownvoices
Porch reading with Xander.
I just finished reading this book last night! The ending was impactful. I love all of the nature elements that McLemore includes through out the book. The cover really sets the tone for the environment, and its a great read for readers who are into a fairy tale filled with magical realism and representation of LGBTQ+ characters.
The descriptions in this book make me want to go wander through a garden somewhere. So beautiful!!
Trying to take pictures with a puppy in house...🤦🏻♀️
This was my stack of #Booked2018 picks for Apr-Jun!
📖Childhood Fave- Alanna ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
📖Steampunk- Boneshaker ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
📖Environment- Silent Spring ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
📖Refugee MC- What is the What ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
📖Friendship- The Help ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
📖Flower on cover- Wild Beauty ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Enjoyed all of them but Wild Beauty was definitely my favorite. Such a sweet, beautiful story w/great representation.
After a very busy day putting on our local Pride parade and festival, celebrating with friends and loved ones, and leaving my phone in my ride‘s car Saturday night, I was frankly really okay with being a bit off the grid for the final event, the closing tea dance. This lovely human and I escaped the party to sit on rocks by the water for a while and I am both so proud of how Pride went and so relieved that it‘s over! #Pride2018 #queerbooks
