A Long and Speaking Silence by Nghi Vo is the seventh novella in The Singing Hill Cycle. I’ve been a fan of all the other books in this series and this one is no different! I really enjoyed this story! We’re stepping back in time a bit in this book and visiting some of Chih and Almost Brilliant’s early years. The pair have not been working together for that long at this point. Their relationship does feel different from other books where they are more established as solid partners. I like seeing how their relationship has grown throughout the series. In this novella, Chih has run into a bit of trouble when they had their moneypurse stolen and so now is working as a waiter in a restaurant. They are of course still a cleric of Singing Hills Abbey so they still try to collect stories as much as they can. Some of the towns’ inhabitants are more reluctant to talk to Chih than others are, and Chih sometimes struggles with getting stories from people. We get to see a more doubtful and unsure ...
I was in a bit of a reading slump when I started reading this book, but The Unmagical Life of Briar Jones by Lex Croucher has definitely cured my slump! This is the first time in a long time I've stayed up late into the night to finish a book. I couldn't put it down once I started reading. Briar Jones, a nonbinary teenager, is hired to work at a mysterious boarding school for the summer. The school is attended by a number of rich, privileged people, one of whom is Briar's former best friend Sebastian Wolfe. The two have not been in contact since Sebastian started attending the school seven years ago. While working there, Briar has to contend with what happened between them. Luckily, they also make some friends with some of the students while they are working there. I absolutely loved the character of Briar. They are so relatable, and felt so real to me! Their relationship with Sebastian is also complex and interesting. It kept me intrigued throughout the book. I think th...