Bayou Bytes Blog

Soraya is a cursed princess. Poisonous, any living creature she touches will die. She's spent her whole life locked away in her castle, while her mother and twin brother travel across the kingdom. But this year, when her family returns to the castle, they bring the promise of change. Soraya's brother will be getting married soon. Not only that, but they caught a demon on their travels, and she's now locked away in the dungeon. If Soraya can meet with the demon, she may learn how to break her curse... Girl, Serpent, Thorn is the first book I've read in a while that really stuck with me long after I finished it. Usually, I finish one story and jump into another, but this one I just sat with it for a little while. And immediately recommended it to three of my friends. This is a wholly original story, crafted like a fairy tale and pulling inspiration from Persian folklore, and it is absolutely worth the read. The story twisted and turned, crushing my predictions and wrappin...

 The Zodiac Starforce is a group of elite warriors gifted zodiac themed powers by the goddess Astra. But they're also a group of teens just trying to survive high school! This is exactly what you'd expect from a zodiac-based super hero story and it does not disappoint. Though the series had a short run, and only two volumes were published, it's beloved online. I had no idea the series even existed until I came across a stray tweet that mentioned it and I was compelled to check it out.  The art style here is especially endearing, it's a cute and colorful style that holds up well and suits the story.  I absolutely recommend this graphic novel for fans of magical girl stories and zodiac enthusiasts. If this title interests you, you can find it here . 

 I have a complicated love/hate relationship with The Cat Who went to Heaven by Elizabeth Coatsworth. On one hand, this 1931 Newberry Award Winner is still my favorite children's story. The story still reads as intended-- there are no dated writing anachronisms, the mixture of poetry and prose still melodically breaks up the chapters, and the illustrations are still breath-takingly beautiful.  And believe it or it's not-- the book called The Cat who went to Heaven isn't actually about experiencing and mourning the loss of a dear pet cat.  Oh, I know-- I can practically hear you thinking: I'm not reading a book about the death of a pet cat .  And I don't blame you. The "Death of a Pet" trope is frequently employed by tear-jerking coming-of-age or a loss-of-innocence stories that want to manipulate your precious tears right out of your cynical eyeballs. This isn't an emotionally manipulative story, but there's my "on the other hand" part o...

The Cruel Prince by Holly Black The titular Cruel Prince is Cardan Greenbriar-- the youngest heir to the Faerie throne, and the least likely ever to inherit it. It's a good thing he's not favored by the folk or the royals themselves to sit on the throne-- he's a spoiled bully and cruel to the human protagonist Jude for being a mortal girl living among faeries. Cruelty runs rampant in the royal family, however.  "If I cannot be better than them, I will become so much worse." Identical twin sisters Jude & Taryn Duarte have known their place in the faerie kingdom since they were very young-- and that their ordinary mortality is viewed with contempt. As regular mortals girls living amongst royalty, nobles, and beautiful immortal folk, they haven't exactly had an easy time with the locals. But while Taryn would rather work harder to fit in, Jude can't help but meet their contempt with her own rage and disdain.  And Jude hates the beautiful faerie prince Car...