Tag: netgalley

Monthly Rewind

Monthly Rewind: April 2025

by Zaheerah2 Comments on Monthly Rewind: April 2025
Monthly Rewind: April 2025

L I F E

I had the opportunity to visit the Penguin Random House library & archive, thanks to work! It was one of many sites that holds manuscript, contracts and artwork of books that stretches back to the mid-19th century! We had a short but amazingly presented tour of the inner workings of the archive. Such a small team that does such pivotal work! Afterwards, they let us just walk around all the books and my first stop was definitely checking out all childhood favourites and seeing them in such new condition felt illegal.

A R T

I was a little sick earlier in the month which means I didn’t get to draw as much as I wanted. But I did stream a bit of the progress of creating a new model for stream. I’m still deciding between two different poses but hopefully next month I can show better progress!

B O O K S

In April, I read 8 books!

Our Infinite Fates by Laura Steven

When I started working at Penguin, I kept hearing this title all over the Children’s team. At first, I wasn’t interested in reading a YA book at the time, but the cover was so pretty I couldn’t stop thinking about the book. It really suits the vibe of the book that I was shocked to see how differently the US cover looks since that cover makes it look like completely different genre!

Our Infinite Fates is a YA fantasy romance that follows Evelyn who is fated to die by Arden’s hand before her 18th birthday. Together, they have lived over a thousand lifetimes and Evelyn still can’t decipher the curse that follows them. She faces a problem in her current life when her little sister needs her for bone marrow transplant and she is weeks away from turning 18, waiting for the day Arden appears on her door. If Evelyn wants to save her sister, she must discover the truth behind her curse and end the centuries old battle with Arden for good.

Honestly, I was bit on the fence with this book. And that was mainly due to the chapters set in the present time. I thought current day Evelyn and Arden weren’t as interesting as their past reincarnations. I loved the diversity of their past lives and seeing how they grow in every lifetime that it almost felt disappointing coming back to the main storyline because all I did was yearn for their past lives.

Something happens in the last 30% of the book that absolutely flipped the entire book on its head for me. I went from having very neutral thoughts to thinking:

To Laura Steven:

Without giving too much away, the entire vibe of the last quarter reminded me of Resident Evil Village. No one I know whose read this book has also played Village and I’m dying to find someone else who has so they can also understand how much the two compare! It actually made me so excited for her adult fantasy debut, Silvercloak!

Continue reading “Monthly Rewind: April 2025” →
Monthly Rewind

Monthly Rewind: February 2025

by Zaheerah1 Comment on Monthly Rewind: February 2025
Monthly Rewind: February 2025

A R T

So not much art this month! I’ve been working on some stuff for my work newsletter so that has been taking up a lot of my art time. But a big thing I’m working on is practising the Arcane art style! I’ve been obsessed with show for a while and with the ending of season 2, I’ve been obsessed with practising the style for fun. The character I’ve drawn is one of my OCs, if you watch me over on Twitch, then you’ll have seen her a lot as I use a PNG model of her for streaming!

B O O K S

In February, I read 10 books and 1 graphic novel. I am on a book reading sweep at the moment! Aside from one book this month – I’ve really enjoyed all the books I’ve read this month.

For transparency, books marked with an asterisk (*) signify books I received through work at PRH.

Continue reading “Monthly Rewind: February 2025” →
Books

Reading Recap 2024

by ZaheerahLeave a Comment on Reading Recap 2024
Reading Recap 2024

Is this post a whole month late? Yes, yes, it is.

So 2024’s reading recap is going to be a little bit different. I actually streamed my reading recap over on Twitch! VODs don’t last for long on Twitch so I condensed the hour and a half stream into a more watchable state. Editing is a bit iffy because I’m not used to editing my streams and I ended up rambling a lot during the stream! I’m also NOT used to talking so much on stream like this. (I usually stream gameplays where the focus is on the game more than me.) And on top of that, I hate hearing the sound of my own voice – so editing was PAINFUL.

Here’s to a better reading year in 2025!

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Monthly Rewind

Monthly Rewind: July + August 2024

by Zaheerah1 Comment on Monthly Rewind: July + August 2024
Monthly Rewind: July + August 2024

L I F E

Of course, I accidentally went MIA just as I said I was going to be returning to blogging….. The past two months have been hectic: summer means everyone wants to come to our house (a curse of living by the beach, you’ll forever be the designated house to visit in the summer) I love seeing my family, but I also value peace and quiet so here’s to hoping for more quiet weekends as we reach the fall season. I’ve also been very busy settling into work and hopefully can share some good news soon 👀

A R T

Ever since I played Baldur’s Gate 3 last year, I’ve had an itch to learn how to play Dungeons & Dragons and delve more into the world of TTRPGs. I came across this game called Cartograph which is a “a solo journaling RPG about map making, exploration, worldbuilding and resource management.” I actually made this one on stream with my Twitch community, the vods can be found here and here. The stream was split into two days as one was for the actual mapmaking and the second day was for making a digital version of the map. Using dices and cards, we were able to create this really cool map that we hope to use in future campaigns.

B O O K S

Tiktok Wrap Up
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Books

Review: The Stardust Thief

by ZaheerahLeave a Comment on Review: The Stardust Thief
Review: The Stardust Thief

I received a copy from the publisher via Netgalley in return for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of the book. (Requested back in 2022 – I am currently working through my backlog of reviews.

A young merchant specialising in selling illegal magic captures the sultan’s attention and is coerced into a perilous journey that no one has yet to conquer. With the aid of her jinn bodyguard, Loulie al-Nazari, also known as the Midnight Merchant, is forced to traverse the desolate deserts in search of an ancient lamp that can restore the lands, but at the cost of sacrificing all jinn. With no alternative but to comply, she embarks on this treacherous mission with the sultan’s eldest son and guard, who harbour their secrets, to survive ghouls, vengeful ghosts, and a killer from Loulie’s past. The jinn and their magic are a treacherous mirage, and it’s up to Loulie to weather the storm or risk losing everything she holds dear.

This book was probably one of my most anticipated reads for 2022, and I’m annoyed at myself for finally taking so long to read it. Loulie al-Nazari is a street-smart businesswoman who collects magic-infused items and sells them to the highest bidder. Her patrons are unaware she uses the help of Qadir, a jinn who found himself led to Loulie at a young age, not long after her village was massacred. Since then, they have made themselves a great pair, using Qadir’s help to make money by selling items most adventurers dream of discovering. But her skills have not gone unnoticed, and the Sultan calls upon her to search for an item that has led many to their deaths. Mazen, son of the legendary storyteller and the Sultan’s youngest, finds himself in a predicament when his oldest brother, Omar, catches him sneaking out of their guarded palace to listen to the local storytellers. When his father sends Omar to accompany Loulie, Mazen, who is wearing magic jewellery, hides his true identity. He joins her instead, guarded by one of Omar’s Forty thieves, Aisha. Thus begins the journey with four polarising people who can only hope they don’t kill each other before the jinns can.

The Stardust Thief is delightful and compelling and an all-around chaotic story. My expectations were indeed high for this. With vivid prose at an exhilarating pace, Abdullah takes the entire cast on a journey almost akin to hell and back. The changing perspectives are opposites but equally entertaining. I nearly felt bad for Mazen’s chapters because I thought Loulie’s POV would be the more substantial chapters, but the inept prince holds his own, considering his travelling partners include a jinn, a merchant and a member of the Forty Thieves. Aisha, our thief, as mentioned earlier, is an exciting addition whose perspective I found to be some of the best chapters in the book.

The main issue I had with the story is that it spends so much time developing the characters and the world around them that by the time the plot has to take precedence, the end result feels rushed. The story feels like it ended much earlier than it should. At almost 500 pages, it felt like a huge disservice to the book to wrap up the ending so quickly.

In all, The Stardust Thief is a love letter to oral storytelling. It is a rich and gripping story that unfolds into an exhilarating adventure that closes its final chapter in an almost disappointing way, but nonetheless, I will be avidly waiting for the rest of Loulie’s story with anticipation.

GOODREADS | AMAZON | AUTHOR

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Review: Northern Boy

by ZaheerahLeave a Comment on Review: Northern Boy
Review: Northern Boy

Rating: 3 out of 5.

*I received a copy from the publisher via Netgalley in return for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of the book.*

In 1981, in Blackburn, young Rafi dreams of the big screen, just like the Bollywood stars he grew up watching. As factory closure threatens his father’s job, Rafi dreads the day he must move to the school down the road, where his musically gifted talents make him a target to the school bullies. Twenty years later, all the way from Australia, Rafi is summoned back home for his best friend’s wedding. For years, he has almost forgotten Blackburn, but as he makes his way back home, the memories and expectations he left behind come flooding back.

Northern Boy is a deeply moving coming-of-age story that vividly portrays the cultural and societal challenges faced by a young Pakistani boy growing up in the 1980s, a time and place deeply marked by societal changes with the rise of Thatcherism. As Rafi grapples with his traditional upbringing, he becomes acutely aware of the whispers in the neighbourhood, the rumours of lost jobs and the rise in racial harassment. His creative outlets, once a source of joy, are suddenly a burden, and at a young age, he is faced with the growing expectations that he must become the man his family wants him to be. But when the opportunity of a lifetime appears, a chance to sing alongside ABBA, Rafi’s determination not to let his dream pass is palpable. 

Northern Boy is written from a dual perspective: Rafi in his youth and Rafi as an adult making the journey to Blackburn, much of which is the plane ride from Australia. For me, this was an example of a book in which the dual perspective did not work in favour of this book. Hussain does well in differentiating the tone between Rafi in different life stages; one moment stuck out to me when Rafi’s childhood innocence did not pick up the situation of his teacher, and then in the later chapters, he looks back on his experience in hindsight. However, for the most part, the narrative feels very skewered. As I read, I found myself really enjoying Young Rafi’s chapter, but whenever it switched over to the present time, older Rafi’s chapters lacked any real progression; those chapters felt like we were just in a waiting game for the Young Rafi chapters to be over before the Present Rafi could finally move on. While the dual perspective approach was not as effective as it could have been, and the timeline became somewhat unclear towards the end, these issues did not significantly detract from my overall enjoyment of the book.

In all, Northern Boy is heartfelt and poignant. Hussain’s ability to vividly portray the struggles and triumphs of Rafi’s youth was fantastic to read. Despite my shortcomings with the dual perspective and the adult chapters, the story is still rich in character development, and poignant storytelling shines through. Rafi’s journey and quest for identity resonate deeply, making Northern Boy still a worthwhile read.

GOODREADS | AMAZON | AUTHOR

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