Tag / sci-fi

by The Booked Unicorn

The African Speculative fiction Society 2022 Nommo Awards : Shortlist Finalists

Hi,

Its been a while! Life has been life-ing and i am alive i promise! So here’s a post that has been on my mind for a while time. And in case i haven’t said it to you happy new year! ( yeah i know the irony of this coming in June)

I am kicking of this post with the African Speculative Fiction 2022 Nommo Awards Shortlist finalists. I saw this on Brittle Papers post on Instagram and i immediately made it a point to read some books from the different categories before the awards. I would also be doing a review on each one i finish.

There are four categories

  • Novel (The Ilube Nommo Award for Best Speculative Fiction Novel by an African)
  • Novella
  • Short Stories
  • Graphic Novel

You can click on this link to see the full list of all the books that have been shortlisted!

Sometimes to find what you are looking for you have to look in front of you. I have been looking for African Scifi and fantasy and while i discovered some authors , this list has lead me to more that i am excited to read. The African Speculative Fiction Society ( ASFS) is on Twitter so give them a follow to find out about African authors writing Sci-fi and fantasy.

I’ll be reading and reviewing books from Three categories, Novel, Novella and Graphic Novel.

Novel Category:

Son of the storm by Suyi Davies Okungbowa ( this would be a reread for me ) Available on Amazon

They made us Blood and Fury by Cheryl S. Ntumy ( Just discovered her and i bought the book on Amazon you can click here to get it!

The Library Of the dead by T.L Huchu Available on Amazon

Novella Category:

The Future God of Love by Dilman Dila ( read this recently and it was so good review to be posted soon!) Available on Scribd

Not Seeing is a flower by Erhu Kome ( read this and loved it, my review is on Instagram but i’ll post it here also) Available on Amazon

Remote control by Nnedi Okorafor ( i am currently reading this)

Graphic Novel Category

Iyanu: Wonder Child Volume 2 by Roye Okupe (creator/writer), Godwin Akpan (illustrator): Available through subscription on the Youneek Website, $2.99 for an unlimited read!

IJournal by Awele Emili ( Available to read here)

Join me to read these books and broaden your horizon on Scifi and Fantasy. I think you will enjoy them and discover new things along the way. So click on the links!

Are there any book awards you look forward to ? and Have you completed any books on any awards list Please let me know in the comments. Also Share this post. Thank you!

As Always,

Nelo- The Booked Unicorn!

by The Booked Unicorn

35 Romance Books To Read!

Happy Valentines Day!

I thought of a good recommendation list that covers a wide range of romance books. I think the only one i haven’t covered is historical romance, i have to brush up on that so if you have any Historical romance recommendations please recommend some for me to check out! ( Anything but Bridgeton, please).

So if you are looking to gift that special person in your life a book or treat yourself to a lovely book haul because you deserve it and you are cute! Here are some of my recommendations.

BDSM

I love a good BDSM romance story, here are some of my favorites

  • Taboo Series by Katee Roberts:
  • The Game Series by Cara Dee
  • Stroke of Midnight by K.Webster
  • Sugar Daddies by Jade West

Short stories

If you are looking for interesting short stories to finish up in one sitting, try these:

  • Go deep by Rizley Adams ( Key word here is Mentor Dick read more to find out what that is)
  • The Nanny by Brandy Bush
  • The Roommates by Brandy Bush
  • Love in color by Bolu Babalola ( A collection of short stories)
  • King Sized by Jessica kane
  • Queen Sized by Jessica Kane
  • The Family series by Katrina Jackson
  • Just one more by Jodie Slaughter
  • Neighborly by Katrina jackson

Alien Sci-fi Romance

This is usually a hit or miss genre for me. And for the love of pizza why do most of them have barbed dick? Well these ones don’t have barbed dick (hehe) but they have something extra or they are just well endowed. Enjoy them!

  • Grim ( The Tornians #1) by M.K Eidem
  • Horde Kings of Dakkar Series by Zoey Draven

Graphic Novel

  • Fangs by Sarah Anderson
  • Jack: The American ghost by Han Jihye; If you love horror comics check out this one its so good!( Available on Tapas App)
  • Little Moments of Love by Chetwynd Catana
  • Bingo Love Franklin Tee

Fantasy

  • Phoenix Unbound by Grace Draven
  • The Otherworld series by Emma Hamm
  • A charm of Magpie series by K.J Charles
  • Bewitched and Bewildered series by Alanea Alder
  • Happy Endings by Alice Winters narrated by Greg Bordeaux
  • Red Winter trilogy by Annette Marie ( It has a nine-tailed fox!)

Reverse Harem

Because i hate love triangles and squares so let there be love for everyone!

  • The age of the Andinna series by Kristen Banet
  • My Lord, Lady and Gentleman by Nicola Davidson
  • Omega Academy Series by Lily Archer
  • The Dark side series by Kristy Cunning

Contemporary Romance

For the Modern day lover, enjoy these wonderful books!

  • A guy walks into my bar by Lauren Blakely Narrated by Shane East and Joe Arden
  • We only have until dawn
  • The Brown sister series by Talia Hibbert
  • The real Series by Katy Evans
  • In Tune by J.N Welsh ( Music and love!)
  • Manwhore series by Katy Evans

I think i missed out on PNR and Historical romance. If you have any recommendations under those genres or any of the above please leave them in the comments!

I hope you have a wonderful Valentines Day and remember that you are worthy of love regardless of this day! You Matter every single day!

Thanks for reading! Please share and comment to help a unicorn out!

As Always,

Nelo- The Booked Unicorn

by The Booked Unicorn

May 2020 TBR

Hey you lovely humans,

So my reading last month was Scattered because…..the mood was strong with this unicorn.

However! We are back on schedule and i am ready to tackle this months tbr

Here’s what i plan on reading.

  1. The Night Tiger by Yangsze Choo
  2. The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi
  3. The Mermaid the witch and the sea by Maggie Tokuda-Hall [Arc]  already finished this and my review is up
  4. Once & future by Keiron Gillen [ARC]
  5. Lord of the rings by J.R.R Tolkien ( may Jah help me with this one because this is just reaching at this point)

That’s all for now. some i have already started reading so i would continue them. I hope to post more reviews and bookish musings later this month so please tick around.

Please share and subscribe! Keep a unicorn encouraged

What are you reading this month let me know in the comments!

As Always,

Nelo-Booked Unicorn

by The Booked Unicorn

Book Review: The Circle (# Omega Academy 2)

Hallo!

Last year i mentioned that Lily Archer was one the authors i discovered on kindle unlimited. 

This year, she just killed me with this book. 

 

The circle

Title: The circle

Author: Lily Archer

Genre: Definitely not YA, Sci-fi, fantasy, reverse harem

Rating: 5 ‘oh shit i have to wait again’ stars

Date published: 9/02/2020

GR Summary

Joining with my Alphas has changed me at my most basic levels. I can’t seem to control my powers, but with Jeren, Kyte, and Ceredes at my side, I think I’ll eventually stop with the accidental outbursts of lethal energy. Hopefully. But my powers aren’t the only problems: I have an Omega who wants me dead, a Sentient who is still trying to kidnap me, and an undeniable need to mate with my Alphas. The entire fleet is slowly reaching a boiling point as the Sentient threat grows, and when they attack and take someone dear to us, the circle vows to fight back. But as the council of regents begins to fracture, secrets slip through the cracks. When I discover the truth, will I be able to withstand it, or will the circle break under the weight of my past?Divider (2)

The review

A little reminder of who we are dealing with

Alpha's of omega AcademyFrom left to right: Kyte, Ceredes and Jaren. Image from Mignon Art.com

And we are back with my favorite gang!

The last chapter in book one had me sitting on the edge, I almost started spamming Lily with the Oh dear God were is book two. And now that book two is here i am contemplating asking her WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS TO ME!!!!

To recap a little ( see my review of book one), Lana is an omega who gets shipped of to another planet, she finds out that she is part of a reverse harem circle and that means a war is at hand. 

In the last chapter we find out that the barrier surrounding the school was opened, this means that there’s a traitor in the school but who is it?

Dun Dun duuuuuuun!

You ever finish a book so quickly you wish you could go back and then start it again just so you could savor the moments. 

In book two the circle is finally formed but it is met with criticism from the council and the students. Lana has to learn to control her new powers or risk hurting the people close to her; and on top of that someone wants to kidnap her? In conclusion Lana can’t catch a break.

I enjoyed how their bond deepened in this one, they protect each other and are not afraid to stand up to whoever wants to challenge them. If i said book one was YA, well folks book two is DEFINITELY NOT. Its totally worth it because the smexy times are smexy af.

I was hoping for more information on Lana’s past in this book because there is more info on the other guys; but here there’s one MAJOR BOMB about Lana and then get this….it friggin ends. Oh yes lovely hoomans reading this, this book is sweet torture because honey the cliffhanger is strong with this one. And don’t even get me started on the traitor- ( i mean i suspected but i was hoping it wasn’t true , but i understand why)- because when it happened i was like nah uh bitch you did not!

In conclusion, Lily Archer has once again given me blue balls waiting on the third installation. I shall spend my time catching up with the fae series then.

This book is available on KU for all interested, if you are looking for a perfect reverse harem check this out.

Thank you for reading my review i highly recommend you get on this series
Let me know in the comments what your favorite reverse harem books are.

 

As always,

Nelo-Booked Unicorn

This is my Review of the Month for the book review link-up on LovelyAudiobooks.info.
by The Booked Unicorn

January 2020 Wrap-up

Hello Humans,

Boy am i glad this month is over! What a way to start the new decade with all the weirdness in the world. You want my advice? Turn of your tv!

I read a total of five books this month i enjoyed four of them, the last one was meh

January Books

  • [owned physical copy]Aurora Rising by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman: Absolutely enjoyed this! The first book i read from this duo, i am encouraged to read the illuminae series now. I am looking forward to Aurora Burning.
  • [kindle E-book]The travelling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa: I wrote a review of this book already. I friggin loved it, i am just saying if i get a cat you would know why.
  • [dARC] Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo: Pre-order this NOW! I will get a review out when its time but trust me its awesome. 
  • The Half-god of rainfall by Innua Ellams [Audio book available on scribd]: Do you ever wish all the women Zeus abused got revenge well strap in for a ride because this epic poem by Innua Ellams lays to rest that wish. I listened to the audio book and its spoken by the author its just beautiful. The review would be up tomorrow
  • [Manga ARC] Don’t Call me dirty by Gorou Kanabe: And of course this Manga broke my five star streak .It wasn’t bad it was just meh ( The meh scale is 2.5- 3 stars ).

I also started Killing commendatore by Murakami Haruki which i have been dying to read since forever ( also shout to Kate Pfeil…i watched her YouTube videos on Japanese literature. I was just getting in Japanese Lit when i stumbled on it. Check out her videos 

I tried to start a habit journal and well i fell off the grid hard.  I will try again Next month ( *eye roll* which means i have to prepare it). I am thinking of using this as an excuse to get more washi tape.

I also started a course on Skillshare: The art and science of drawing with Brent Eviston, it breaks down drawings to the basic shapes while teaching  the proper techniques for drawing. One thing i am learning is that draw is a skill not a talent and to improve you have to practice ( get that muscle memory going).

Thank you for reading, i pray February is even better than this month. I would like us to remember to treasure our loved ones.

 

As Always,

Nelo-Booked Unicorn.