September special new releases book battle!
When 3 of my TBR books are all dropping within 30 days of each other🤩😱
Normally, I pick 3 random books from the nearest library…but this month is special. I’ve been waiting on all three of these books for some time now. How often does it happen when all my picks are released so closely together? Honestly, it’s never happened before. I blame the blue-super-harvest-moon we just had. 😉
I’m going to read all of these books eventually, but which one should I read first and discuss with you here? That is the ultimate question.
Since one of these books is days away from its release, and thus I don’t have a copy of it yet, I will be showing shorter excerpts of only the cover blurbs from booksellers.
Option A:
House of Marionne by J. Elle
What I know:
I’ve been a fan of J.Elle since her first book “Wings of Ebony” that broke the NYT bestseller list, and I was honored to get an early copy of it before the release. This author writes very emotionally dynamic characters in impossible situations filled with magic. If you’ve seen the #BlackGirlMagic trending, her fantasy books are some of the reasons why. 🧙🧙🏾🪄❤️
Option B:
Mindbreaker by Kate Dylan
What I know:
I read the first book in this series “Mindwalker” and loved it so much I couldn’t put it down even when getting my hair done. For anyone who remembers back when Elon Musk announced he had people working on Neural Link to connect your brain to a computer, you should read this as the author explores all the possible implications of such technology and how it could be weaponized.
Option C:
Vampires of El Norte by Isabel Canas
What I know:
This book ranks in the top bestseller lists of categories dominated by the late Anne Rice, one of my favorite authors. I am actually very picky when it comes to vampire novels, and the opening of this book in the Amazon preview grabbed me well. Not only have multiple people I know been talking about it, but also, I love the historical Mexican setting and know enough Spanish to enjoy the references.
Page 5:
VAMPIRES OF EL NORTE: Ah, it's as I suspected. The foreigners are asking to buy horses, and land. Then the land gets taken bit by bit as the men who own the surrounding ranches are killed at night, vanished without a trace. Nena sees these invaders as the embodiment of all the ghosts in their nightmares, and it is scary. I see the rising stakes here, and still, it does not feel like something where I can predict what's beyond the next page. The intrigue and questions have won me over. 🏆
MINDBREAKER: Here we have more insights on how Indra loved learning how to hack because it was so forbidden in her compound. She was exposed to too much radiation during her last time out against her Order's wishes. And now she's facing the total loss of choice as it seems clear she will be sold to this corporation. I do feel the tension here, and yet the mystery of the vampires now outweighs the result that must come of watching Indra become an experiment.
Alright, it was close, a very tough call for me, but VAMPIRES OF EL NORTE it is! (3 to 2)
I will review this one for my next post.
However, I'll still read MINDBREAKER, just later with a more simplified review (minus writing technique analysis) on my GoodReads, etc. 😉
And HOUSE OF MARIONNE, I haven't forgotten you either! Look forward to reading & reviewing that as well, just not with a full technique review over here on SubStack.
Stay tuned to my posts on SubStack Notes as I hit big exciting moments in my read through of VAMPIRES OF EL NORTE.
Page 4:
MINDBREAKER: Here we have some slight repetition, but also clarifications. Her parents are likely to sell her to this corporation to save her life, even though it goes against their principles of protesting technological rule. Today they must make the decision. The corporation will own her and experiment on her as they will, and no one will be able to change that. And so, she waits to see if she will live or die. 🤔
VAMPIRES OF EL NORTE: Now we're getting into the intrigue of the "Anglos;" the foreigners who came and apparently threatened Nena's family after Tejas (Spanish for the state of Texas, as it was once called) has just been cut off from the rest of Mexico. I love the political intrigue and the growing danger here...I have to know more. 🏆
Round 4 goes to VAMPIRES OF EL NORTE (love the progressive layers of the story unfolding here).
We are now 2 to 2 (tied once more). Who'll win?
Onto the next page...