HELLO friends!

I'm sorry for disappearing for a whole month right after launching. Severe imposter syndrome. I genuinely felt like it was pointless to be on Bindery because who is going to care what I'm talking about here?

Which brings me to a point I made in a really vulnerable video a few weeks ago called "why I'll never be famous" about my frustration with the lack of growth on my platform and not connecting with the people I know are out there who read what I read and like what I like. Especially when it comes to promoting diverse authors who aren't people like Sarah J. Maas, who, problematic as she is, is revered in a godlike way by a mass of predominantly white women. And you know what? Post about her or any other quintessential mainstream white author and your follow count goes through the roof and brands and publishers actually notice you.

I won't lie, I would love to turn this into something sustainable where I could pay some bills with it. But not in a way that compromises my integrity or my moral compass. I want to talk about books and press on nails and makeup and outfits and be vulnerable without being performative. So I was feeling really down, wondering if there was even a point and if I'd ever make this into something more. Not just for me, but for the bookish community, to give them another person who can diversify their reads across authors and genres and concepts and make reading fun and knowledgeable and safe again, not a chore. That's what I set out to do when I started.

I didn't expect so much support on that video, not just from my friends but from creators I really admire and people who follow me just because I'm me. It reminded me that I'm doing something right and it's resonating somewhere, and I can't give up. Like everything else in my life, I'll just have to work harder to get where other people already are.

So I'm just going to yap on Bindery now. If you've made it this far, HELLO, let's be friends. I promise to share more about what I'm reading and doing here in longer form, and thank you to anyone who's here now and anyone who joins later.

I read 9 books in August, which is crazy, but it felt like a meh month because it was the first time this year that a lot of what I read was....mid. They were alright, but I've been on such a streak of amazing books that I noticed it more. Here they are though, form your own opinions.

The Lunatics — Navessa Allen (4★)

Blurb: a shifter romance built on two very different kinds of werewolf.

My first shifter book in forever and it delivered. Loved the two-tier wolf system, the once-a-month mostly-human ones vs the ones fully in touch with the animal. Felt refreshing. Layla's powers with Michael feel like we barely scratched the surface. I wanted more spice, but I read the bonus chapters for volume two and now I'm dying for the rest!!

Boring Asian Female — Canwen Xu (4★)

Blurb: a lit fic spiral about an Asian American woman whose lifetime of perfectionism finally snaps.

This was a WILD ride and I'm genuinely concerned for this woman. It nails that final-straw crash out. Being Asian American, the pressure to hit these ridiculous dreams your parents have for you because you feel like you owe them. Elizabeth ranking everyone by percentile is just her trying to quantify her way out of being deeply insecure. Her killing a girl over a Harvard spot, based on nothing but stuff she made up, is still living in my head. The ending wasn't what I pictured so I took off a star, but this is going straight in the crazy girl lit fic pile.

Embrace (Off the Ice #4) — Bal Khabra (3★)

Blurb: book four in the Off the Ice hockey romance series, with Kian and Scarlett.

My three stars was purely for Kian. I usually love Bal's books but this one wasn't it. Scarlett's storyline felt weak and the plot never went anywhere, with barely any connection to the sport. Kian's one of my faves and his story could have been more.

The Anatomy of Magic (Darkest Divine #1) — Alexis L. Menard (3★)

Blurb: a surgeon gets pulled into a world of magic and court politics.

I really liked the magical concept but the plot got lost in places and I was confused more than once. Nina's fun and I loved that she was a surgeon, and I wish we saw more of that. There needed to be more logic behind the magic and political systems, and more detailed romance. Still curious about book two.

Molka — Monika Kim (3★)

Blurb: a Korean horror-thriller about spycam voyeurism and the women it destroys.

A sharp commentary on how little care or justice women get when intimate content is taken without their knowledge. Started off really strong and it did get crazy, just not in the supernatural direction I wanted. A few plotlines get raised and never resolved. The real horror at the end is that she gets no justice at all and the misogyny just wins again. Kind of sad.

A Trade of Blood (Ana and Din Mysteries #3) — Robert Jackson Bennett (5★)

Blurb: third in the Ana and Din fantasy mystery series.

This was SO SO SO good. One of my most anticipated series releases this year and it HIT SO WELL. I was sad when it was done because I wanted more, and if you haven't read this series you really need to. It's Sherlock Holmes type detective vibes with crazy cases, set in a semi mysterious sci-fi fantasy world with augmented humans, leviathans, and a lot of secrets. This one shared a LOT more secrets and explored more of the politics of the nation while Ana and Din solved the murder, and I was so riveted.

The Sweetest Fiend (Played by the Piper #1) — Raven Kennedy (5★)

Blurb: first in a new Raven Kennedy fantasy romance series.

The queen has done it AGAIN. Esti and Varrick fall hard and fast and I spent the whole book wondering how this could possibly keep going if they get their HEA, and man, was I surprised and played the entire time. The world building is fascinating and there's so much more to learn about how the crack in the world happened, who the fates are, the banes. Am I shocked and riveted and thirsting? Yes. I need the next book NOW.

Wait and Hope — mightbewriting (3★)

Blurb: a Dramione fan fic where Hermione wakes up married to Draco for six years and remembers none of it. Currently being trad published.

Wanted a little more out of this. With all that magic on the table the ending could've been so much bigger, and it needed more spice. Still excited and curious about the trad pub version.

The Maiden and Her Monster — Maddie Martinez (3★)

Blurb: a sapphic dark fantasy rooted in Jewish golem folklore, where a healer's daughter bargains with a zealot priest to hunt the monster in the cursed forest and save her mother from execution.

I enjoyed the folklore a lot but it was trying to do too many things at once, which is why it was three stars for me. Still good, but I wasn't going crazy. I liked the horror aspects, and I wish we had more romance because the build up for these enemies to lovers was lacking. I wanted more banter. I also found the main character annoying sometimes, but that was the point since she's naive to the way the world works. The ending was well done!

That's all from me for now. Let me know if you've read these, what recs you have for me, or what content you want.

Talk to you soon, BYEEE