Diversity Spotlight Thursday is a weekly meme hosted by the wonderful Aimal @ Bookshelves and Paperbacks. Every week, you come up with one book in each of three different categories: a diverse book you have read and enjoyed, a diverse book on your TBR, and one that has not yet been released.

My theme for this week is POC main characters in popular YA Fantasy. (I might do the same theme for next time because I had a very hard time choosing).

~O~o~O~o~O~

A BOOK I HAVE READ

“Six of Crows” by Leigh Bardugo

Criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker has been offered wealth beyond his wildest dreams. But to claim it, he’ll have to pull off a seemingly impossible heist:

Break into the notorious Ice Court
(a military stronghold that has never been breached)

Retrieve a hostage
(who could unleash magical havoc on the world)

Survive long enough to collect his reward
(and spend it)

Kaz needs a crew desperate enough to take on this suicide mission and dangerous enough to get the job done – and he knows exactly who: six of the deadliest outcasts the city has to offer. Together, they just might be unstoppable – if they don’t kill each other first.

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes and Nobles

Okay, I had to include this but is there really anyone who hasn’t read this duology yet? How are you still alive?

~O~o~O~o~O~

A BOOK ON MY TBR

“A Darker Shade of Magic” by V.E Schwab

Kell is one of the last travelers–magicians with a rare, coveted ability to travel between parallel universes connected by one magical city. 

There’s Grey London, dirty and boring, without any magic, and with one mad King–George III. Red London, where life and magic are revered–and where Kell was raised alongside Rhy Maresh, the roguish heir to a flourishing empire. White London–a place where people fight to control magic and the magic fights back, draining the city to its very bones. And once upon a time, there was Black London. But no one speaks of that now.

Officially, Kell is the Red traveler, ambassador of the Maresh empire, carrying the monthly correspondences between the royals of each London. Unofficially, Kell is a smuggler, servicing people willing to pay for even the smallest glimpses of a world they’ll never see. It’s a defiant hobby with dangerous consequences, which Kell is now seeing firsthand.

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes and Nobles

The last book of the series just came out and it’s about time I started this series. I’ve been hearing about these books a lot lately and the hype is getting me even more excited to start.

~O~o~O~o~O~

A BOOK RELEASING SOON

“The Bone Witch” by Rin Chupeco

“Let me be clear: I never intended to raise my brother from his grave, though he may claim otherwise. If there’s anything I’ve learned from him in the years since, it’s that the dead hide truths as well as the living.”

When Tea accidentally resurrects her brother from the dead, she learns she is different from the other witches in her family. Her gift for necromancy means that she’s a bone witch, a title that makes her feared and ostracized by her community. But Tea finds solace and guidance with an older, wiser bone witch, who takes Tea and her brother to another land for training.

In her new home, Tea puts all her energy into becoming an asha-one who can wield elemental magic. But dark forces are approaching quickly, and in the face of danger, Tea will have to overcome her obstacles…and make a powerful choice.

Memoirs of a Geisha meets The Name of the Wind in this brilliant new fantasy series by Rin Chupeco!

Release Date: March 7th 2017
Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes and Nobles

I’ve actually been approved for this in Netgalley and I was super excited to read this but it started off really slow. And now I’m not so sure. Maybe you guys will have better luck though.

~O~o~O~o~O~

What’s your favorite Fantasy with a POC main character?

Diversity Spotlight Thursday is a weekly meme hosted by the wonderful Aimal @ Bookshelves and Paperbacks. Every week, you come up with one book in each of three different categories: a diverse book you have read and enjoyed, a diverse book on your TBR, and one that has not yet been released.

My theme this week is f/f relationships in YA. (My themes are self-created so I can focus on one particular genre of diverse books).

~O~o~O~o~O~

A BOOK I HAVE READ

“Lies We Tell Ourselves” by Robin Talley

In 1959 Virginia, the lives of two girls on opposite sides of the battle for civil rights will be changed forever.

Sarah Dunbar is one of the first black students to attend the previously all-white Jefferson High School. An honors student at her old school, she is put into remedial classes, spit on and tormented daily.

Linda Hairston is the daughter of one of the town’s most vocal opponents of school integration. She has been taught all her life that the races should be kept separate but equal.

Forced to work together on a school project, Sarah and Linda must confront harsh truths about race, power and how they really feel about one another.

Boldly realistic and emotionally compelling, Lies We Tell Ourselves is a brave and stunning novel about finding truth amid the lies, and finding your voice even when others are determined to silence it.

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes and Nobles

Have I talked about this book enough? This is one of my favorite historical fictions of all time. It takes place right after segregation in public schools was banned. It tackles both racism and homosexuality in the 50’s and early 60’s.

~O~o~O~o~O~

A BOOK ON MY TBR

“Everything Leads to You” by Nina LaCour

A wunderkind young set designer, Emi has already started to find her way in the competitive Hollywood film world.
 
Emi is a film buff and a true romantic, but her real-life relationships are a mess. She has desperately gone back to the same girl too many times to mention. But then a mysterious letter from a silver screen legend leads Emi to Ava. Ava is unlike anyone Emi has ever met. She has a tumultuous, not-so-glamorous past, and lives an unconventional life. She’s enigmatic…. She’s beautiful. And she is about to expand Emi’s understanding of family, acceptance, and true romance.

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes and Nobles

This has been on my TBR for the longest time! I’ve heard a lot of good things about this book.

~O~o~O~o~O~

A BOOK RELEASING SOON

“It’s Not Like It’s a Secret” by Misa Sugiura

Sixteen-year-old Sana Kiyohara has too many secrets. Some are small, like how it bothers her when her friends don’t invite her to parties. Some are big, like that fact that her father may be having an affair. And then there’s the one that she can barely even admit to herself—the one about how she might have a crush on her best friend.

When Sana and her family move to California she begins to wonder if it’s finally time for some honesty, especially after she meets Jamie Ramirez. Jamie is beautiful and smart and unlike anyone Sana’s ever known. There are just a few problems: Sana’s new friends don’t trust Jamie’s crowd; Jamie’s friends clearly don’t want her around anyway; and a sweet guy named Caleb seems to have more-than-friendly feelings for her. Meanwhile, her dad’s affair is becoming too obvious to ignore anymore.

Sana always figured that the hardest thing would be to tell people that she wants to date a girl, but as she quickly learns, telling the truth is easy… what comes after it, though, is a whole lot more complicated.

Release Date: May 9th, 2017
Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes and Nobles

Yay for LGBT+ books with POCs! Judging by the summary, this book has great potential. I have high hopes for it.

~O~o~O~o~O~

Are any of these on your list? What lgbt+ books are you excited to read?