It's Monday! What are you reading?

It's Monday! What are YOU Reading? is a meme hosted by Kathryn at the Book Date. In my opinion, the meme is a great way to share what you have been, are, and about to be reading over the week. In other words, basically yet another way for book nerds to gush over read/unread books. 

  LAST WEEK:

As I was still on winter break, I took full advantage of the week to indulge in some leisure reading. Wintersong and Flame in the Mist absolutely captivated me. Geekerella and Mrs Funnybones left me with mixed feelings. I was particularly disappointed with Geekerella. It wasn't terrible, but I just expected more out of the story. On the other hand, Mrs Funnybones was a mix of exciting and dull moments. There were stories in there that were worthy of being noted down, while others were bland and unimpressive. 

CURRENTLY READING:

I am currently at the phase where I have so many books that I can't decide on a novel to read seriously. The end result? Me going through multiple books, all halfway read. Here's to hoping that I finish at least one of them real soon, but the new batch of ARCs I received in the mail today are making this an extremely difficult task. #bookbloggerstruggles

                                         

UP NEXT:

As indecisive as ever, I managed to narrow down my immediate TBR pile to the following books:

                                

The Poet X and If You Leave Me don't come out until much later into the year, but both have really intriguing (not to mention unique) plots. I have very high hopes for these titles.

Blurbs of The Poet X and If You Leave Me: (for your convenience)

The Poet X

A young girl in Harlem discovers slam poetry as a way to understand her mother’s religion and her own relationship to the world. Debut novel of renowned slam poet Elizabeth Acevedo.

Xiomara Batista feels unheard and unable to hide in her Harlem neighborhood. Ever since her body grew into curves, she has learned to let her fists and her fierceness do the talking.

But Xiomara has plenty she wants to say, and she pours all her frustration and passion onto the pages of a leather notebook, reciting the words to herself like prayers—especially after she catches feelings for a boy in her bio class named Aman, who her family can never know about. With Mami’s determination to force her daughter to obey the laws of the church, Xiomara understands that her thoughts are best kept to herself.

So when she is invited to join her school’s slam poetry club, she doesn’t know how she could ever attend without her mami finding out, much less speak her words out loud. But still, she can’t stop thinking about performing her poems.

Because in the face of a world that may not want to hear her, Xiomara refuses to be silent. 

If You Leave Me

An emotionally riveting debut novel about war, family, and forbidden love—the unforgettable saga of two ill-fated lovers in Korea and the heartbreaking choices they’re forced to make in the years surrounding the civil war that continues to haunt us today

When the communist-backed army from the North invades her home, sixteen-year-old Haemi Lee, along with her widowed mother and ailing brother, is forced to flee to a refugee camp along the coast. For a few hours each night, she escapes her family’s makeshift home and tragic circumstances with her childhood friend, Kyunghwan.

Focused on finishing school, Kyunghwan doesn’t realize his older and wealthier cousin, Jisoo, has his sights set on the beautiful and spirited Haemi—and is determined to marry her before joining the fight. But as Haemi becomes a wife, then a mother, her decision to forsake the boy she always loved for the security of her family sets off a dramatic saga that will have profound effects for generations to come.

Richly told and deeply moving, If You Leave Me is a stunning portrait of war and refugee life, a passionate and timeless romance, and a heartrending exploration of one woman’s longing for autonomy in a rapidly changing world.

Hope you all have a great week! My last post was a review of Marissa Meyer's Renegades. Feel free to check it out HERE. Till next time!