#sang kromah

[upperrubberboot]

[fazilareads]

JUNE WRAP-UP

June was a productive month. I was able to read 10 books, and I enjoyed most of them. I have a few favorites as well. I loved The Buried World by Jeff Wheeler, and have already gotten the next book in the series. I binge-read entire Shades Of Magic series and it was fantastic. Half Life was really good and unique YA Sci-Fi. The Secret Notebook was great with interesting historical elements added…

[nahimjustfeelingit-writes]

Hi, do you have any good black author book recs??. Within the last two years I've gotten into reading alot more books by black authors and it's been so refreshing.

Have you ever read the Bluford High books? That’s a good read

My mom has a lot of books from like the early late 90s 2000s (God Don’t Like Ugly, Flyy Girl) and I’m so into those books lol idk what it is.

Try Tracy Deonn, Ciannon Smart, and Sang Kromah to name a few.

[emmaschoutenwrites]

Djinn by Sang Kromah

⭐⭐⭐⭐

I picked up this book because of the title. Djinn is another spelling of genie so I thought that’s what it would be about. It is not. But I’m not disappointed with what I got instead either.

The story is one that has been told hundreds of times before but it’s different. It follows Bijou as she goes to school for the first time in 16 years. At this school, she will meet people who will help her understand the weirdness in her life and she will finally learn the truth about who she really is. A bit like in Fallen by Lauren Kate, like Tithe by Holly Black, or even a bit like City of Bones by Cassandra Clare. So, the plot itself isn’t original.

What is original is the setting, and I don’t mean Sykesville. The book uses Arabic folklore and African folklore and Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream, which the author gives a twist of her own. The djinn are a little like the fae that have swamped YA fiction in recent years, but they are also different in their powers and their connection to the elements. And, let’s not forget, plenty of Buffy the Vampire Slayer references.

A few things are a little on the nose, such as their teacher suddenly teaching them about the djinn in stories and folklore. Even before you know about the djinn, that gives it a little away.

A plus point, I find, is that Bijou isn’t the only one discovering her life has been nothing but lies strung together. Many things have been kept from almost all the characters, which meant that even those who could help Bijou get the answer she needs will discover things they might not want to know. There are secrets and betrayals, there are prophecies and strange dreams.

I enjoyed the story and hope there is going to be a second book, especially considering the way the book ended. Not exactly a cliffhanger but definitely a lot of loose ends I would love to see tied up.

One last thing. The cover isn’t my favorite. it definitely represents Bijou but if I’d seen only the cover and the title hadn’t intrigued me (I’m working a story called Djinn so yeah, I just had to read it), I don’t think I would have picked it up. Which would have been a shame. Don’t let the cover scare you off!

(Damn, I’m so bad at reviewing books I actually liked. It’s so much easier to just list of all the things I didn’t like than the things I did like)

[krakenartificer]

Tagged by @turtletotem  (Fun fact: when I type @, you’re Tumblr’s #1 guess about who I might want to tag)

Top 3 Ships

I love all my ships equally. You can’t make me choose like this.

1) Oliver/Felicity, Arrowverse, Romantic 2) Aziraphale/Crowley, Good Omens, Romantic or platonic 3) John/Sherlock, BBC Sherlock, platonic

Last Song I Listened To

Spotify says.... uh hang on. Uh. Spotify says I haven’t listened to anything in so long that it’s stopped storing what I was listening to. Weird. Pretty sure I was listening to my Josh Groban playlist yesterday, though. So probably something by Josh Groban. Last Movie I Watched

In theaters, The Rise of Skywalker. On Netflix, probably Into the Spiderverse? I’ve been mostly watching TV shows lately, so it’s been a while since I’ve watched a movie

Currently Reading

Alright, here we go:

Debt: The first 5000 Years, by David Graeber, whose thoughts on markets being a luxury we can’t afford in times of crisis are especially interesting at the moment.

The Murder of Roger Akroyd, which has by far the most entertaining narrative POV character of any Agatha Christie book I’ve read

On Looking by Alexandra Horowitz, which is fascinating and also well-written

The Return of the King, which is going slowly but I am actually making progress, which puts it ahead of all the other times I’ve tried to read this trilogy

Secondhand Shadow, by Elizabeth Belyeu, which is one of my go-to comfort-reading novels, containing the perfect mix of angst, fluff, and hurt/comfort

Ice and Smoke, also by Elizabeth Belyeu, which I’m still reading as my husband’s bedtime story.  We’re 51% done and he hasn’t guessed the spoiler yet.

Djinn, by Sang Kromah, which is a fun YA paranormal

Endurance, by Scott Kelly, which honestly isn’t grabbing me as much as I hoped given the enthusiastic recommendations I’ve gotten. How much do I have to read before it gets good?

Current Food Craving

Dark chocolate. ALL the dark chocolate

9 People I’m Tagging I am so sorry, but social anxiety won’t allow me to tag anyone. Please consider yourself tagged if you’d like to do this, and tag me to let me know that you did :)

[mybookplacenet]

Djinn by Sang Kromah

Djinn by Sang Kromah

About Djinn:

‘Djinn’ is the story of Bijou Fitzroy, a 16-year-old girl, who has spent her life being raised and homeschooled by her nomadic recluse of a grandmother until one day, they decide to settle town in a small town in Maryland, where Bijou is enrolled in a high school for the first time. Naturally, Bijou is socially awkward and quite unsure of herself and to add insult to injury, she’s an…

[2plan22]

RT @SangWrites: Wondering if there are any librarians who double as book bloggers and would like to read an #ARC of my #yalit novel, #Djinn? #AskALibrarian 2PLAN22 http://twitter.com/2PLAN22/status/934930810515402752

Wondering if there are any librarians who double as book bloggers and would like to read an #ARC of my #yalit novel, #Djinn? #AskALibrarian

— Sang Kromah, Author 🇱🇷 (@SangWrites) November 26, 2017

[wendyandcharles]

Tweeted

ReadersGazette: RT SangWrites: The latest Sang Kromah's Concealed Daily! https://t.co/sPUYMDJCM3 Thanks to GargoylePhan ellisshuman debora…

— Wendy Siefken (@WendyandCharles) July 26, 2017

[paperjunk]

Concealed By: Sang Kromah Genre: Teens & YA Publishers Summary: When sixteen year-old Bijou Fitzroy and her nomadic grandmother leave New York City to live in a home in the sleepy town of Sykesville, Maryland, Bijou thinks she will finally be able to live a normal life and be like everyone else. This move will be permanent, and Bijou cannot be anymore thrilled. After years of being shut away by her grandmother, Bijou will finally able to interact with peers, make friends, go to school, and live like a normal teenager. Moving around and being homeschooled definitely made it difficult to make friends, but there are other reasons for Bijou’s solitude. With eyes that constantly change from gray to green to a honey-coated shade of brown and an ability to feel exactly what other people are feeling, the concept of obtaining closeness is more of a fable than a reality. Although her eyes are beautiful, their constant shift in color instills a sense of fear within other people and causes them to look away. Bijou’s premonitions, blackouts, and semi-prophetic dreams of a faceless boy don’t help her social musings either. Regardless, she decides to attend the local high school. Bijou is immediately introduced to Sebastian Sinjin, a quirky and unusually beautiful boy who doesn’t seem to belong in a high school in nowhere Maryland. Sebastian is also special. Instead of looking away from Bijou, he makes direct eye contact with her. And when he shakes Bijou’s hand something dark and familiar to awaken within her as an electric shock surges through her body. Bijou soon finds herself deeply attracted to Sebastian, who remains aloof and often acts like Bijou doesn’t exist. Despite the pains of having her first real crush, Bijou makes friends quickly and excels in all of her classes…well, all except for Mythology with Mr. Jennings. Mr. Jennings’ class starts off great with endless discussions of djinn and how they conceal themselves from the human eye, but things soon take a turn for the worse when the stories of the mythical creatures begin to take shape in Bijou’s life. My Review: I received this book free from the publisher for an honest review and I must say, though I like the idea of the Djinn and being mixed myself, seeing a mixed heroine was a nice turn for me, but the story itself was all over the place just like Sebastian's mood and reactions. Right from the beginning it felt like the author wasn't in touch with her inner teen self. I felt awkward reading some points of the story, because it didn't feel genuine, but rather forced. While the story as a whole was not bad, I couldn't bring myself to love it and I wanted to so badly! The book had so much promise. The lore of the djinn and how it was incorporated with the other creatures was great, but not enough to bring me back for more unfortunately.

[fazilareads]

BOOK REVIEW : DJINN BY SANG KROMAH

BOOK REVIEW : DJINN BY SANG KROMAH

TITLE : Djinn

AUTHOR : 

GENRE : YA, Urban Fantasy

FR RATING : ⭐⭐ 2.5 Stars

FR REVIEW

DISCLAIMER : Thank you, NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for providing me with an ARC of this book. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Djinn is a YA urban fantasy with Djinns as the fantastical creatures. The story is told from Bijou a young teenager’s perspective. We…