Isaac

4.5 stars • a dark tale that makes you think and possibly one of the best short stories of all time!

I went into this story expecting a plot twist. That happens. But I was originally left underwhelmed. I was expecting something more dramatic and out of the box. I was expecting some horror to creep me out, something unrealistic, but this isn't a tale of monsters, it's almost a tale of realism.

Here's the thing. It's a predictable story. But the meaning of the story is powerful and is one that sticks with you. After reading this story, I looked up the analysis. It's a dark story about mob mentality and tradition. The dangers of continuing tradition, blindly following it for ‘the sake of tradition'. This is quite a powerful short story and one I will remember. 4.5/5

3.5 • An adorable collection of quirky poems about dogs. From circus dogs, philosophical ones, to ones that are growing old. With cute white and green illustrations. Love the imagery. Favourites include Lola's Circus and Dobson: The Dog Detective!

4/5 • This is a thriller on the publishing industry. It's a risky book to write so I admire Rebecca for doing it. Writing a Goodreads review for this one feels weird, considering the topic of book reviews is discussed in the book, even making up an important plot point.

This novel feels like a r/HobbyDrama post, turned into a fully-fledged 300 page novel. I mean that as a compliment though. Anyone who's ever stumbled upon the aforementioned subreddit, knows it's a rabbit hole. You'll be immediately hooked by tales of messy drama in niche fields you've never heard about. Yellowface feels like an first-person account from the woman at the heart of a drama within literary fiction, and she's delightfully problematic.

The story reminds me of the Cassandra Clare plagiarism debacle, or JK Rowling descent into transphobia. Only this is a fictional story of bestseller Juniper Song, and her plagiarism from her dead Asian best friend. Then her descent into racism, narcissism and perfectionism.

I enjoyed this novel more than I expected. I've just realised I've not read enough books by the villains, or the unreliable narrators. Juniper Song, our main character, is a narcissistic bitch , that's the point though. It's interesting to explore the psyche of such a person. It also brings attention to the difficulties of racism in publishing, along with the unintended effects of diverse voices in fiction. Rebecca's writing works well, the pacing of this one is perfect, managing to include many twists, that had me quite literally gripped, wanting answers.

2 stars • meh but an interesting concept

I think this could have been an interesting memoir, but I didn't enjoy this one. Most of this book is just transcripts of the author's therapy sessions.

It's an interesting way of telling's one life, but I think it would have benefitted with more regular memoir writing. I don't feel like I know much about the author, like her history, or family. It centered mostly on their feelings. The novel also tries to be part-memoir, and part-self help, and I don't think this combo works.

A cozy sequel to the first book. But I'll admit, I liked the first one more. This one's plot felt more convoluted. The first one had a simple plot. Garlic goes on an adventure to the Vampire's castle. Then this one attempts to broaden the world a bit. Some parts I liked, like Count having a boyfriend!! But then I disliked the vegetables turning into humans. I like my vegetables as they were. And for a book titled with ‘The Witch', there wasn't enough of the witch. But overall, was still a cute whimsical book that left a smile on my face. The art is absolutely gorgeous and charming.

A wholesome story about a gay ghost and a gardener falling in love. It's a really cute and adorable premise but the whole plot felt so disjointed and rushed. Too many elements being clashed together, making it a confusing read. I liked the character designs, the chemistry between the leads, but the plot... not so much.

5 stars — It's difficult to describe the plot of this book. It's really just an nonsensical adventure across the galaxy with a band of idiots, a depressed robot and some mice. It has lots of technobabble, absurdist imagery, and that number of great importance 42.

In truth, none of this book makes much sense, and to me that's the joy of it. It's charming, witty, funny, with that classic British humour you expect to see in Monty Python or Roald Dahl.

There is some semblance of plot. The Earth is destroyed and our characters are thrust into space. But Adams takes the story is so many weird and unexpected directions. It is also probably the most quotable book I've ever read. There are so many memorable lines here that really make you laugh.

Oh this was delightful. This is a cozy comic about a bunch of talking vegetables and an anxious Garlic's mission to infiltrate a Vampire's castle. The art is adorable, whimsical, and one of the coziest books I have ever read.

Garlic is super adorable!! Celery is an condescending jerk. Carrot is the best friend you want. And the Witch is the kind mother! This is one of those books that makes you smile and feel all warm. Would recommend!

3.7 stars — This has such a charming premise. A group of old people in a retirement home meet every Thursday for to discuss old murders and crimes. When it comes to the detective genre, I'm not a fan of the simple ordinary middle age police detective. No I want something more interesting and a group of oldies meddling in investigations. Now that's interesting.

This book is so British. It's cozy British. There is talk of the latest Strictly Come Dancing scores, a visit to Waitrose, biscuits, talk of British weather, our trains, and more. Osman is good at depicting ordinary British life in a way that seems realistic and charming. And the old characters, Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron and Ibrahim are a bunch of wonderful of characters. They remind me of my own grandparents in truth.

My main fault with this book was the amount of side characters. Too many for me to keep up with, and most of them feel somewhat irrelevant. It feels like Osman has planned an intricate whodunnit with a web of different characters. I'm sure he knows who is who, but I got a little lost. For the last few pages, I got confused and had to consult an online summary to pierce the events together. That being said, our central Murder Club, was an adorable set of characters. My favourite is Elizabeth, she feels like the Queen Bee of the pack. And we get to read about two police D.Is alongside, Donna and Chris, whom I absolutely adore. It was hilarious seeing the professional police officers interact with the meddling Murder Club. I loved reading the characters interact, and the comedy is golden. The actual mystery I did not enjoy as much.

Would recommend! A cozy British mystery, delightfully funny, with a dash of murder.

3.8 stars — oh I so love cozy Klune

Soo I read this back-to-back with Cerulean Sea and that may have been a problem. It gave me high expectations and they were not quite met. I still love this one, but I felt it could have been better?

It has all the right ingredients to make a five star rating and a place on my favourites shelf. There's a cozy tea shop, kind reapers, a queer romance, Klune's trademark humour and a wonderful character journey on finding a family and home...

But I think it just suffers in the execution. Klune has all the right elements, but it just doesn't impact in the way that Cerulean Sea does. It's a hard one to beat, and both books have similar themes, but frankly Cerulean Sea does it better.

I love the entire concept for this one with a tea shop before you pass on. There's also an adoring cast of characters that I grow to care for. Klune's iconic humour makes me laugh outloud. There are scenes I loved, cried at, laughed and more.

But man there are so many things I would change with this book! For starters, I didn't like the ending. It felt like the ending was too happy and perfect. And Wallace. He starts out as this asshole, but his development felt too quick? I love the idea of learning kindness, but it felt the character had changed drastically in only a few pages.

That being said, I still loved this one, and Klune is quickly becoming one of my favourite authors for his whimsy and heartwarming books. Keep at it Klune, you are amazing at doing cozy books!

3.5 stars • I like this one. A sweet story about acceptance featuring a love story between a ghost and a human.

PROS
First, I read a lot of fantasy and I like the fantasy of this story. The magic system is a gendered. This is not a new concept in the genre. We have witches and wizards already. But in this world, we have the Brujx. A community who possess the power to see spirits and heal the living. And the community is built on gender. Men are brujos, protectors who help spirits cross over into the afterlife, while women are healers.

I really like how Yadriel's trans identity intertwines with the plot. The magic accepts him for who he is, but his community does not. It's very much a story of acceptance for trans people. I was rooting for Yadriel, so much. My favourite scene was where he uses the men's bathroom for the first time. As a cis guy, I've never had to experience this, but Aidan Thomas writes it in a way that gave me so much triumph. I basically yelled “Go Yadriel!!!” like it was sporting event. And felt so proud of this fictional character.

The romance is sweet. He meets a ghost called Julian. A sweet gay romance with a ghost and a magic boy. Then hijinks and romance ensure. Both characters felt developed and well-matched. I often feel in romance genres that characters blend together and are written the same, but I think Aidan has done a good job of making them strong characters on their own.


CONS
By far the weakest part for me, was the plot. It felt muddled. Some scenes dragged forever, and the writing has this way of including too much exposition. The premise of this book started so well. A ghost and a magical boy team up to solve a possible murder and find a missing person. That's awesome...except it wasn't and dragged. The romance took priority for some time, and the mystery felt boring. It was also a predictable mystery. I worked it out early on and our villain even gets a stereotypical monologue at the end.

OVERALL
I liked this one. A strong own-voices story of a trans Latinx teenager and a story of acceptance in a world where the magic is gendered. Feels like a YA book, and not in a positive way, the writing has this YA feeling that I can't describe well. But despite this, a lot of fun.

There's one thing people forget about Harley Quinn. She's smart. Intelligent. A psychiatrist. Not a ditzy blond. Yet still manipulated by the Joker all the same. And this is what makes her story so tragic. Harleen is essentially Harley Quinn origin story, printed under DC's Black Label. A label known for more mature content and this is the perfect place to tell her story. Because let's be real, Harley story is already dark, a psychiatrist who falls in love with a mass murderer. Well, not a nice love story.

I love the framing for this story. There's a lot of ethics at play. Harley is investigating her thesis on empathy and is using the subjects at Arkham to investigate. She has a desire to help. But we see through the eyes of Harley. Her flaws, her alcoholism, her attraction to older men and forbidden romance. She wants to help. Yet, in the world of Gotham and Joker's manipulation we see Harley enter into a world of depression and madness.

This story was only 3 issues, yet the pacing never felt rushed. It felt like a developed character study of Harley's character. One you could write a whole essay on. I wasn't expecting so much Harvey Dent in this story, but it fits perfectly. The juxtaposition between two good serving members of society slowly descending into madness works. I also loved the gorgeous art as well, especially the use of shadows. Loved that we saw Harley's shadow slowly turn into Harley Quinn, and the Joker's shadow often being bigger than Harley, reflecting this deranged power dynamic.

An impressive graphic novel showing Harley's origins, tragic, gripping, with gorgeous art as well. And yes, this comic somehow made the Joker seem sexy and I hate how that's possible.

A good short read. Nick and Charlie personally work better in comic format. Oseman is absolutely incredible with comic writing, but I always feel a little underwhelmed by her prose fiction. Not bad, but her comics are just a whole step up.

But saying that, this was a still nice read. The first volume of Heartstopper was super wholesome and cute. That deals with the feelings of first love and crush. And this novella packs the emotion and deals with an older Nick leaving for university and leaving poor Charlie behind in his A Levels.

It's relatable. I'm a gay british guy and have been in relationships where the move to university has an impact. And not always a good one. It's scary. You don't get to meet up as often. Things change. That summer before university can be exciting, yes, but also anxiety-inducing on relationships and how they change. I think Oseman did a good job of writing about that. Nick and Charlie aren't always the perfect relationship, but I think Oseman is good at showing realistic struggles, and also their commitment and love to each other. They might just be becoming my favourite fictional couple!

3.5/5 • reread • I never finished The Lunar Chronicles and it's being sitting on my shelf forever, so why not? This is peak YA for me - like it feels like a young adult book, with all the right trends, here I mean it as a compliment. I love the premise, retelling of fairy tales in a science fiction world. Cinderella but make her a cyborg! This is just a comfort book for me. Quick, easy to read, makes some interesting twists to classic fable.

First, I absolutely adore Gabriel Picolo artwork. I've been following his Instagram for a while. I wish he would make more comics, his style is one of my favourites. I'm not sure how to describe his art, it's quirky, fresh with bold colours. 10/10 on the art.

For the story, Gar is one of my favourite Teen Titans and this was a fun origin story. The story is decent, but felt quick, a little too quick. There were a few themes raised like animal testing and male body image. But it felt like novel was too short to make a real comment on these themes. And while Gar does comes across as a bit of an arrogant and vain character. I admittedly like his character despite that. A fun comic!

5 stars — Oh, wow. It's been some time since a book has made me so full of feelings- like I feel like crying and sobbing. Not because this book is sad, not at all, but more because this is such a beautiful novel.

One of the author reviews describes this book as ‘wrapped up in a big gay blanket'. I've never seen a more apt description of a book. The story is about Linus Baker. He's an everyman, with a good office job and getting older by the minute. He's content with his life, or so he says, but for a job assignment he sent to inspect a magical orphanage (think like an Ofsted worker).

I really like characters like Linus. He reminds me of Bilbo Baggins or Arthur Dent. Those characters who are content with their lives, are a tad pompous and set in their ways, but against their wishes are sent on magical journeys. Linus learns a lot. The character development is rife, all of the characters here grow and develop. It's beautiful to watch.

It's very much a book of being ‘different' but learning to cherish differences and who you are. I think it's interesting that the most common criticism with this book is that it's actually too wholesome. It is, but that's why I love it, so much happiness and comedic moments. It tackles discrimination and has a message of embracing difference. It is a simple message at it's core, but turned into a wonderfully cozy story.

Oh gosh, I don't know what is left to say, this is 5/5, on the favourites list for me. There are times that I laughed out loud- Linus character is endearing but also downright funny (reminds me a little of my own dad). The children are wonderful and the development of every character makes my heart warm. The magical creatures are wonderful. The queer relationships was a beautiful touch. All in, love this book so much, literally made me sob and all emotional at the end.
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(And in terms of the controversy with the Sixties Scoop. It's not a good thing. But I don't think it's enough to purely hate this book- this book is trying to promote good values and it's clear it had a very surface level impact on the story. But despite this, I think there is a more nuanced conversation needed around the topic and its fair to make criticism.)

4 stars • I really liked this. It has some faults, but I adore the premise of small time travelling coffee shop. This kind of soft fantasy, with a focus on realism is my favourite. And I really love this book's depiction of time travel. There are rules to it... a lot of rules. And this creates quite an interesting story. ☕️

I also liked the format of the novel. The story is split into four chapters, each focusing on a different character. Some chapters are better than others. I really adored the second chapter the most. It's a bittersweet story of a man with Alzheimers and his wife. Really moving. Some chapters I didn't like much and felt needed some improvements (specifically the first one).

The writing style is written like a play. Pretty much all of the story takes place in the coffee shop with characters leaving and entering, feeling very much like a play. This style is not for everyone! But it didn't affect my enjoyment too much. And I really wish this was a play I would go watch it for sure.

(also the cover of this book betrayed me! There's a cat on it. I was expecting more cats. I am disappointed by the lack of cats in the novel.

3 stars — There's one thing you need to know before reading this book. This is based on an popular audio drama called The Bright Sessions. It is essentially a tie-in, with parts acting as novelisation of the podcast episodes.While this book can be read without listening to the podcast. I would not recommend doing so.

This book is sweet, it doesn't add much to the series, and feels like official fan-fiction. It's a soft gay love story with an empath. The podcast tells it better, but I still liked this book. I found it really enjoyable to see Caleb's view of the world. I adore the podcast, but that medium lacks what books can do, explore thoughts and feelings in a more literal sense through descriptions. And Caleb is perfect for this and I loved seeing his viewpoint and how he feels others emotions and the effect this has.

Also Lauren Shippen surprised me, she is a good writer! I mean of course, she is talented audio drama creator, well-known in that scene for a hits like The Bright Sessions or Bridgewater. But books is a different medium, and I was hesitant. I sometimes struggle with authors of different mediums. Oseman's Heartstopper comics are some of my favourites, but her books less so. Rowling's Harry Potter is a delight, but her screenplays are awful. Lauren Shippen's prime craft is audio, but the transition to novel here, was done surprisingly well. An easy to read writing style, not overdone, but not lacking either.

I think a lot of criticism for this book comes in the last 20% where a lot of characters are introduced and the plot becomes more complex. I think Lauren Shippen had a difficult task here. This book is sweet and lovely. It begins as a low-stakes gay romance with a dash of science fiction. And it works well. But it couldn't stay that way. Adam and Caleb's story, coincides simultaneously with the bigger events occurring in The Bright Sessions podcast. I think the book would have been stronger if the book stayed as this sweet soft low-stakes romantic story. But in doing so would retcon the events of the podcast. As a result, I think it's best to see this novel as a novelisation of Adam and Caleb sub-plot in the series, instead of a standalone YA novel.

Overall, a nice easy read. I love Caleb and Adam and lots of moments were heart-warming and tender. If I hadn't listened to the podcast before reading, I probably would have given this less stars, my bias to these characters are showing! And if you haven't listened to The Bright Sessions, go now! It's free! The the plot is essentially “what if the X-Men went to therapy?” And since listening to it, it got me obsessed with the audio drama medium. 3/5

Handy little reference book for designing wireframes and understanding UI, perfect for beginners. It has a lot of great tips for design, and in an easy to read format, with great screenshots.

Would recommend! Was looking to read something about modern web design and this was perfect! Super quick to read. Perfect for anyone learning to design, especially web developers and UX designers.

Only down side is it's super overpriced and I really hope the price decreases in the future. Such a valuable book in the area of design - honestly would recommend to all aspiring web designers.

Whimsical and enchanting! I liked this more than the first one. The art is absolutely gorgeous. One of my main difficulties with the first book is the lack of plot, and here it's improved. Still a bit muddled at time, but nevertheless this was simply beautiful cozy vibes. I really loved Erik, he's my favourite. Also the depiction of sign language was beautiful, and I loved the glossary of dragons at the end.

4 stars • audiobook • recommend the audiobook!

If I had chosen to read this as physical book, I would have been given it a lower rating. Probably like a 3 star at best...but the audiobook!

Oh wow. It just elevates this story. The performances are top-notch, not just read aloud, but performed, acted. The way the book is written makes a strong transition into audio format. Daisy Jones & The Six is written in an oral story format, a set of interviews with different characters, spliced together to form a fictional documentary about the band of the same name.

No surprise, this format works better in audio. And I enjoyed it a lot! The characters are realistic. This is fictional history, but done so well, that I needed to remind myself that Daisy Jones & The Six were not a real band. I also loved the 70s rock and roll culture, the messy drama, and the rawness of the characters recounting the past. Another thing I liked was the usage of unreliable narrator. The book's format with the different characters perspective brought to light the unreliability of some of the perspectives.

There were a few things I disliked. I didn't really believe Daisy and Billy were in love. It felt so fake and one-dimensional? We are told they are amazing musicians and gorgeous people. But I didn't feel the chemistry. Also, this book is so full of infidelity and addiction. Most of the characters are, to some extent, unlikeable because of this. Despite that, still an enjoyable read, especially liked the ending. The final Daisy and Camila interactions felt really moving and impactful.

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5/5 • I liked this more than the first one. It's truly a warm hug of a book. Our robot and monk continue on their travels, this time into more human settlements. There's a lot more world-building and characters in this novella. That's a good thing! I loved the first, but I very adore seeing Mosscap's interactions with the human world. We got that in the first book, but this one explored it so much more, but visting various different towns - and so beautifully described.

I am curious for the decision to make this series two novellas, instead of one full book? I can see the divide, but it feels very much like those books that have “part 1” and “part 2” inside. The same themes and meaning is embedded in both, and this is a direct continuation of the first novella. You know, I would have loved to have gotten a special full combined hardback edition with spray-painted edges, instead of these two separate novellas. Regardless, loved both very much, such a cozy read. ☕️

5/5 • Oh, Becky Chambers, you are becoming one of my favourite authors. This book is a warm hug. It is somehow so peaceful, yet also made me rather teary.

This is cozy science-fiction and it works. A travelling tea monk and a robot meet in the wilderness, they travel, drink tea, converse about the differences in robot and humans, and their overall purpose in life. That's really it. The plot is simple, but written in such beautiful prose. I love these kind of oddball friendships- between characters that are so different (a robot and a monk). Chambers manages to really explore this friendship, seeing both their differences and similarities.

I don't normally listen to music alongside reading, but for this one, I decided to do something different. I picked an instrumental and ambient spotify playlist- and gosh that made this even more cozy and immersive. Much of this book is set in the wilderness, so listening to ambient sounds of birds and forest made this even more cozy. This was a chill hour just reading and I loved every moment.

I also loved the social commentary. Though I feel this one isn't so much commentary, more showing a social alternative. What an interesting world. Also the philosophical discussions on life's purpose really hit me in a time that I needed it. This is also the second time I've been in a reading slump and it's a Becky Chambers book has been made fall in love with reading again, so thank you.

A cute follow-up! God I love Nicholas and Seiji, their dynamic is hilarious. Most of these issues take place over the same 24 hours. They do a great job at making fencing thrilling, though I do wish we get some more character development. This series hints at a gay romance, but we only get little scenes here and there with our main guys. I want more!!

oh my gosh, they were roommates

Oh, gay fencing. I love it. This is clearly inspired by sports manga, you know the ones: Free, Yuri on Ice and Haikyuu. It has that sport rivalry with gay undertones. (I presume it's gonna get gayer right?)

There's a lot of cliches and overused tropes, but this case I don't mind at all. It's a tad cheesy, but in all the right ways. The characters are entertaining, and I am already shipping Nicholas and Seji!! Looking forward to reading to reading more of these two.