ABOUT

HELLO AND WELCOME TO THE BOOKISH UNIVERSE!

Hello and welcome to The Bookish Universe!

I’m Mar, devourer of books and explorer of the BOOKIVERSE. I’m passionate about Literary Culture and spend many hours a day reading and discovering the magic and mystery of the BOOKIVERSE to bring you the best book recommendations, latest trends, and the most anticipated new releases and screen adaptations. I’d love to be your guide to the BOOKIVERSE, Let’s explore together! [LEARN MORE].

Yes, I’m a dreamer. For a dreamer is one who can only find his way by moonlight, sees the dawn before the rest of the world. – Oscar Wilde

UPCOMING REVIEWS

Family Lore
What Happened To You?: Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing

LET'S WORK TOGETHER!

I’d love to work with you to promote YOUR books or any other books you love! Please visit the COMMUNITY page to learn more about how we can work together (e.g. if you want to us to collaborate or if you want to request a book review or book promotion services). You can also visit my POLICIES page to learn more about my review policy.

WHAT YOU'LL FIND HERE IN BOOKIVERSE

I read hundreds of books every year of all genres and categories. However, I have a soft spot for magical, diverse, atmospheric own-voices stories by POC authors that invite social commentary, Hispanic, and magical realism/SFF books.

I mostly read ARCs (Advance Reader Copies) of upcoming hot new releasesscreen adaptations, and other hyped/trendy books so I can tell you if they are worth the \”hype\”. Books rated over 4 stars are on the Recommendations page, and all opinions are on the Review page.

I’m an independent book reviewer, so I don’t get compensated for my reviews and recommendations and only recommend books I genuinely enjoy.

I do offer to collaborate with others to promote books (learn more) on the BOOKIVERSE news (new releases, cover reveals, etc.). Still, they will always be identified as a “book promotion service”. I will never recommend a book just because I provide these services, only if I genuinely enjoy it.

You’ll find the latest news, reviews, and recommendations on the HOME page, and these are some of the books you can expect to see next:

You will also find recommendations and news based on the calendar of events below, which (along with the latest trendsnew releases, and screen adaptations) determines my monthly reading list (TBR).

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

FEBRUARY EVENTS

FEBRUARY TBR

Mothered

MARCH EVENTS

MARCH TBR

The Haunting of Alejandra
Ander & Santi Were Here
Divine Rivals
Nights at the Circus

APRIL EVENTS

APRIL TBR

Becoming

MAY EVENTS

MAY TBR

Legendborn

JUNE EVENTS

JUNE TBR

The Scorpio Races
Life of Pi
Carry On
Into the Drowning Deep
To All the Boys I've Loved Before

JUL EVENTS

JUL TBR

Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-first Century
Unbroken: 13 Stories Starring Disabled Teens
Relentless: From National Champion to Physically Disabled Activist

AUGUST EVENTS

AUGUST TBR

Reclaim the Stars: 17 Tales Across Realms & Space
Jawbone
Truly Devious
Carry On
More Happy Than Not
Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History
Jane Eyre

SEPTEMBER EVENTS

SEPTEMBER TBR

The Mountain in the Sea
House of Hunger
Iveliz Explains It All
Our Shadows Have Claws: 15 Latin American Monster Stories
Babel, or the Necessity of Violence: an Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution
The Maidens
Legendborn
The Inheritance Games
Bunny
Frankenstein: The 1818 Text

OCTOBER EVENTS

PreptoberU.S. LGBTQ+ History Month, International Day of Older Persons, Halloween, World Habitat DayWorld Teachers’ DayWorld Mental Health DayWorld Food Day, International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, Samhain (Hallowe’en)

OCTOBER TBR

The Wilderwomen
Gleanings: Stories from the Arc of a Scythe
Eva Evergreen, Semi-Magical Witch
City of Ghosts
Neverworld Wake
The Death of Mrs. Westaway
The Wicked Deep
The Afterlife of Holly Chase
The Silent Companions
Scythe
The Accident Season
Alice
The Library at Mount Char
The Museum of Extraordinary Things
The Dream Thieves
Night Film
The Madman's Daughter
The Evolution of Mara Dyer
The Diviners
The Night Circus

NOVEMBER EVENTS

NOVEMBER TBR

The Picture of Dorian Gray
Crime and Punishment
Frankenstein: The 1818 Text
Macbeth

DECEMBER EVENTS

DECEMBER TBR

Monday's Not Coming
Dear Martin
To Kill a Mockingbird
Ace of Spades Sneak Peek

MY STORY

Hello!

This is me on the dock over the frozen lake in my backyard during the latest of the infamous “Nor’easter” blizzards in New England, U.S (January 28-29, 2022), determined to read that big tower of books, “The Outlander” series, since I was snowed in.

Besides being a recurrent blizzard survivor, I’m a wife, sports mom of two busy athletes and an engineer working full time for the U.S. government and dedicating most of her inexistent free time to reading, writing, and exploring the BOOKIVERSE.

 

An upbringing filled with the myths and folklore of the three cultures I’ve lived in (South America, Spain, and New England) shaped my literary taste, which dwells in the liminal space between fantasy and magical realism. So, now my passion is to create and promote more magical, mysterious, and atmospheric stories, especially own-voices, diverse, relevant stories that invite social commentary.

 

In 2015, I started a bookish blog to share this passion. After rebranding that first blog twice, the third time was the charm, and BOOKIVERSE was born in 2020 with a Big Bang of stardust and stories!

MY PROJECTS
LOOK I WRITE STORIES TOO!

Write what should not be forgotten. ~ Isabel Allende

I like villains and I cannot lie! So, I write otherworldly stories about villains and antiheros.

ALMA SOLA
The Curse of the Weeping Woman

They call me the “Weeping Woman”
They say I haunt their waters because I’m cursed.
They say I’m cursed because I killed my family.
I did kill my family.
But, they only know the legend.
This is the real story.
– Alma Sola

Burning Witch Cover

BURNING WITCH

I look at the starry night
I look up because I don’t want to look down.
The flames above whisper “home”,
whereas the flames below scream “pain”.
“Burn the witch!” the crowd screams too.
I wonder who they are burning. I’m a princess not a witch, right?