Books On The L

The All-Night Sun by Diane Zinna⁣
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Thank you and for including me on this tour.⁣
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A whirlwind friendship and a mystery thriller element are what caught my attention with this one! Have you heard of it?⁣
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Synopsis from Goodreads:⁣
Lauren Cress teaches writing at a small college outside of Washington, DC. In the classroom, she is poised, smart, and kind, well liked by her students and colleagues. But in her personal life, Lauren is troubled and isolated, still grappling with the sudden death of her parents ten years earlier. She seems to exist at a remove from everyone around her until a new student joins her class: charming, magnetic Siri, who appears to be everything Lauren wishes she could be. They fall headlong into an all-consuming friendship that makes Lauren feel as though she is reclaiming her lost adolescence.⁣
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When Siri invites her on a trip home to Sweden for the summer, Lauren impulsively accepts, intrigued by how Siri describes it: green, fresh, and new, everything just thawing out. But once there, Lauren finds herself drawn to Siri’s enigmatic, brooding brother, Magnus. Siri is resentful, and Lauren starts to see a new side of her friend: selfish, reckless, self-destructive, even cruel. On their last night together, Lauren accompanies Siri and her friends on a seaside camping trip to celebrate Midsommar’s Eve, a night when no one sleeps, boundaries blur, and under the light of the unsetting sun, things take a dark turn.⁣
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Ultimately Lauren must acknowledge the truth of what happened with Siri and come to terms with her own tragic past in this gorgeously written, deeply felt debut about the relationships that come to us when things feel darkest–and the transformative power of female friendship.

Happy Publication Day to “Black Sun”⁣
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I was in a reading funk when I started “Black Sun,” and it was just what I needed to snap out of it.⁣
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I‘m no expert on high fantasy but I can tell you that this book has an engaging story line, the characters are fully fleshed out, and the magic provides an escape that isn’t unrealistic. The first half is largely dedicated to world building but once the book takes off, it’s fast paced excitement through to the end!⁣
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The winter solstice is typically a cause for celebration in Tova, but this year it brings the convergence; the moon’s shadow will create a Black Sun beckoning the return of a god. Power between the Sky Made clans and the Watchers of the Celestial Tower has been unbalanced for some time, and without balance the world tips into utter chaos. Who will set it straight?⁣
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“Black Sun” is told from four perspectives, which is where the audiobook shines. Getting to hear the characters and their personalities was a gratifying experience. Apologies if you‘re thinking “duh, that’s the point of audiobooks,” I’m new here 😬.⁣
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Bonus points for the inclusion of q***r, non-binary, and third gender characters that weren’t used as props but a nod to Indigenous cultures.⁣
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I’ll definitely be tagging along for the rest of this trilogy, hopefully the wait won’t be too long. I’m looking at you 👀.⁣
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Read Black, Indigenous, and Black Indigenous authors ✌🏾.⁣
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Got any other science fiction/fantasy titles I should check out?

See y’all tonight at the author conversation with , where we’ll be discussing her debut novel “Luster.”⁣
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I finished this weekend and my only regret was not having time to read it twice 😩. Long story short, I loved it. Having lived in NYC in my twenties, I’ve definitely met an Edie or two.⁣
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If you’ve read Luster, then I know you have questions/thoughts/feelings, so I hope you’ll bring them to the discussion tonight.⁣
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Link to event registration is in bio. You can watch via Facebook Live or Zoom @ 7PM CT/8PM ET.⁣
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Drop a comment if you’re looking forward to the chat!