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LAST VIOLENT CALL BY CHLOE GONG // book talk: died and went to heaven reading these masterpiece novellas from my fave series
Finally being the obedient fan that I am and caught up on my fave hence these reviews are very close together. Did you all know I love Chloe Gong? Didn’t know if it was obvious or not haha Quick disclaimer: I’m actually not spoiling this book in particular, but the entire plot is a spoiler for previous books in the series, especially Our Violent Ends, hence me titling this a book talk. However, if you’re up to date with the series, I’m not spoiling anything *wink wink* Anyways, this has been a long time coming and I’m excited to get into this! Title: Last Violent CallSeries: Secret Shanghai book #3.5Author: Chloe GongPage count: 233Date published: 28 February 2023Genre: New adult historical fiction ☎ Synopsis: From #1 New York Times bestselling author Chloe Gong come two captivating novellas surrounding the events of Foul Lady Fortune and following a familiar cast of characters from These Violent Delights. In A Foul Thing, Roma and Juliette have established themselves as the heads of an underground weapons ring in Zhouzhuang, making a living the way they do best while remaining anonymous in their quiet life. But when they hear about Russian girls showing up dead in nearby…
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HAPPY PLACE BY EMILY HENRY // spoiler-free book review: the most perfect summer read from my queen mother ft. stunning best friends on vacation & heartwrenching second chance romance
Let us ignore that I could have read this book months ago but I was too much of a scaredy cat lmao But I shall cease to be in awe of the Henry magic and I shall now spend the rest of my days shoving this down your throat. You’ve been warned! Let’s dive in ; ) Title: Happy PlaceAuthor: Emily HenryPage count: 388Date published: 25 April 2023Genre: Adult contemporary romance ☀️ Synopsis: A couple who broke up months ago pretend to still be together for their annual weeklong vacation with their best friends. Harriet and Wyn have been the perfect couple since they met in college—they go together like salt and pepper, honey and tea, lobster and rolls. Except, now—for reasons they’re still not discussing—they don’t. They broke up five months ago. And still haven’t told their best friends. Which is how they find themselves sharing a bedroom at the Maine cottage that has been their friend group’s yearly getaway for the last decade. Their annual respite from the world, where for one vibrant, blissful week they leave behind their daily lives; have copious amounts of cheese, wine, and seafood; and soak up the salty coastal air with the…
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SOMETHING MORE BY JACKIE KHALILIEH // blog tour book feature: adorable debut ya contemporary ft. all the angst, brilliant autism representation & aesthetic
Eeeep so so excited to be telling you all about this lovely gem of a book today! Big thanks to Coloured Pages Tours for having me on to celebrate the release of Something More by Jackie Khalileh! A bit late with my tour stop but I didn’t want to miss out on telling about this adorable book, so let’s get into it! Title: Something MoreAuthor: Jackie KhaliliehPage count: 336Date published: 6 June 2023Genre: Young Adult contemporary romance ✎ Synopsis: A contemporary teen romance novel featuring a Palestinian-Canadian girl trying to hide her autism diagnosis while navigating her first year of high school, for fans of Jenny Han and Samira Ahmed. Fifteen-year-old Jessie, a quirky loner obsessed with the nineties, is diagnosed as autistic just weeks before starting high school. Determined to make a fresh start and keep her diagnosis a secret, Jessie creates a list of goals that range from acquiring two distinct eyebrows to getting a magical first kiss and landing a spot in the school play. Within the halls of Holy Trinity High, she finds a world where things are no longer black and white and quickly learns that living in color is much more fun. But Jessie…
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IMMORTALITY BY DANA SCHWARTZ // spoiler-free sequel book review: my new fave YA gothic historical fiction series that you all need to read!!!
Eeeep so excited to finally rave about this book with you all. I’ve been holding it in for a hot second and it’s finally my time! Warning: since this is a sequel, the synopsis does contain spoilers for the end of book one aka Anatomy by Dana Schwartz! The spoiler-free section shouldn’t be too spoiler-y so you’re good there, but maybe skip the synopsis if you haven’t read it yet. Without further ado, let’s get right into it <3<3<3 Title: Immortality: A Love StorySeries: Anatomy Duology book #2 Author: Dana SchwartzPage count: 389Date published: 28 February 2023Genre: Young Adult gothic historical fiction 🧠 Synopsis: Hazel Sinnett is alone and half convinced the events of the year before—the immortality, Beecham’s vial—were a figment of her imagination. She doesn’t even know if Jack is alive or dead. All she can really do now is treat patients and maintain Hawthornden Castle as it starts to decay around her. When saving a life leads to her arrest, Hazel seems doomed to rot in prison until a message intervenes: Hazel has been specifically requested to be the personal physician of Princess Charlotte, the sickly granddaughter of King George III. Soon Hazel is dragged into the…
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MAY RECAP // a lot of essay writing, cute new books & some romance to relieve the stress
Who doesn’t love when Ruby only does recaps? Definitely not you, because you love me no matter what I do right? I’m full of myself I know. Please just ignore me. Let’s get into this already ; ) — Sabrina September Is A Liar by Nikki Lincoln {★★★★☆}: never going to get over how stunning this cover is and you all so need to read this absolutely fabulous debut romance! I was SHOCKED it was a debut because the writing is blow-you-socks-off good and I’m so excited to see Nikki flourish. Tysm for gifting me with an ARC and a finished copy!!! Click here for the GR review xoxo! Meet Me At The Lake by Carley Fortune {★★★★☆}: Another stunner of a cover, gosh these pinks are getting to me, man. This was an excellent follow-up to Every Summer After, which I really liked last year. She almost had the potential to get a higher rating but something was holding me back. But I loved the characters, and the writing was wonderful and I literally want to go to Canada rn. Love that for me. I’m truly going haha. Click here for more thoughts With Love, From Cold World by…
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INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR NIKKI LINCOLN // chatting to local author of Sabrina September is a Liar about this gorg debut romance
Moment of silence for this cover that could honestly whack me over the head and I’d be thankful for it. The cover gods BLESSED US and I shall absolutely never recover from the stunningness. Which is indeed a word, in case you were wondering. Find it in the Ruby dictionary. Anyways, ecstatic to have the wonderful Nikki Lincoln with us on the blog today to celebrate her debut Sabrina September Is A Liar which has been out for just over a month and you all NEED to read it!!!! Title: Sabrina September is a LiarSeries: The Summer Fall book #1Author: Nikki LincolnPage count: 370Date published: 28 April 2023Genre: Adult contemporary romance 🏝️ Synopsis: An emotional second-chance romance story about the strength of love, life-changing friendships, and forgiveness. Sometimes perfect love finds you at the most imperfect time. At least that was what she’d spent nine years, eight months, and six days telling herself. But when it comes to her true feelings, Sabrina September is a prolific liar. Their love had arrived at the perfect time, but fear was a destructive force in matters of the heart. Ten years ago, she arrived in Japan, broken, and desperately searching for a way back to…
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APRIL RECAP // i am in my british comedy era, finally read a jane austen & sinking down the academic research rabbit hole aka life is great
Currently, my brain capacity is at 0.1 but that is not necessarily a bad thing. It just means I have a lot to say and no way to articulate it so this recap should be fun. If there’s one thing Ruby Rae Reads will always deliver, it is chaos and you can at least count on that. Let’s try and remember what happened this month before May is over *insert happy dance* Don’t You Forget About Me by Mhairi McFarlane {★★★★½}: Don’t remember what finally gave me the push to read this author, maybe fate because I just KNEW I would love her and Ms McFarlane and I are now best friends. She doesn’t know that yet but it’s the truth. Maybe you’ll get a full review soon because I have a lot to say, but this was like watching a British comedy in book form and no-one does comedy like the British. The writing was whip-smart, the characters loveable and it’s just everything I want in an adult contemporary technically women’s fiction, but agh that term sucks. It was absolutely brilliant READ IT RIGHT NOW!!!!!! GR review here Mad About You by Mhairi McFarlane {★★★★★}: I couldn’t tell you…
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MARCH RECAP // graduation, moving, some reading & other chaos
Quite chuffed with my incredibly inventive title if I do say so myself *wink wink* We all know that I am a comedian by nature. God I need to shut up now. Anyways, back to your irregularly scheduled belated recap, as per usual, due to very obvious reasons in the title. I honestly don’t remember what happened last month, it was all very blurry but I shall try my best to recount it to you. Into the chaos we go! Last Violent Call by Chloe Gong {★★★★★}: I was never prepared for this book and I have read it and am still not prepared. Chloe never misses and this book was perfection, as is everything she writes. My heart stopped beating for approximately 200 pages and I need to tattoo this book onto my forehead. It was stunning and I will have a full review up hopefully soon, GR review here in the meantime *screams for eternity* The First Move by Jenny Ireland {★★★☆☆}: The lovely people at Penguin SA had an eARC available and I needed a smol pick me up so I read this on a whim. Devoured this in like a day and agh what a cute…
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JANUARY & FEBRUARY RECAP // somehow i read 15 books ft. graphic novel mania, readalongs, lots of new books & back to uni
It’s the way I forgot to post my January until halfway through February and decided another two weeks was worth waiting. I mean what else is new here? Ruby Rae Reads: perpetually late to everything Lmao love that for me Anyway, I have lots to talk about, so let’s jump right in! Seven Percent of Ro Devereux by Ellen O’Clover {★★★★★}: started off the year strong with this absolutely stunning YA debut contemporary romance ugh it was SO SO SO GOOD!!!! Absolutely everything I ever wanted from this book about creating an app, familial tension, angsty emotions and childhood friends to enemies to lovers. It was *chef’s kiss* and you all need to read it RIGHT THIS SECOND!!!! Big thanks to the author for sending me an eARC via Netgalley, click here for my GR review <3<3<3 Heartstopper Volume 1 by Alice Oseman {★★★★½}: decided to get off my butt and finally read these and ugh I had the bestest day literally just reading all of these comics. A stunning first instalment and I do love how accurate the show is. It’s kind of scary. Big thanks to Pan MacMillan SA for the review copy xoxoxo Heartstopper Volume 2 by…
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FOUL LADY FORTUNE BY CHLOE GONG // book talk: a show-stopping spectacular 1930s shanghai adventure that blew my mind into a million pieces and i need the next book right now!!!
IT HAS BEEN 84 YEARS AND I HAVE FINALLY READ THIS FREAKING BOOK ROUND OF APPLAUSE FOLKS It’s honestly embarrassing it’s taken me this long. Like truly. Hate myself for that. But I finally finished it and off its the way this book FINISHED ME!!!!!!!! I shall now cry about it for eternity,,, Title: Foul Lady FortuneSeries: Secrets of Shanghai book #3Author: Chloe GongPage count: 528Date published: 27 September 2022Genre: Young Adult historical fiction 💀 Synopsis: It’s 1931 in Shanghai, and the stage is set for a new decade of intrigue. Four years ago, Rosalind Lang was brought back from the brink of death, but the strange experiment that saved her also stopped her from sleeping and aging—and allows her to heal from any wound. In short, Rosalind cannot die. Now, desperate for redemption from her traitorous past, she uses her abilities as an assassin for her country. Code name: Fortune. But when the Japanese Imperial Army begins its invasion march, Rosalind’s mission pivots. A series of murders is causing unrest in Shanghai, and the Japanese are under suspicion. Rosalind’s new orders are to infiltrate foreign society and identify the culprits behind the terror plot before more of her people…
