Ash
This book read as if it was written by AI. The plot, the dialogue, the lack of chemistry or meaningful conversations, just contrived. Ivy is kind of a bitch and not in an endearing way. I didn't really understand why Ezra is coming on so strongly to Ivy after she had been so rude to him, but him cyberstalking her gave me all the ick. Ngl, the “you could stand to eat a few cheeseburgers” line knocked a star off all by itself. Ezra in general was a consent nightmare. It's never a good time for me when the male lead of a romance novel is icky. The whole Phoebe and Cody business and her trying to lose 10 pounds just so she can be catfished too, was gross. The only saving grace for this book was Lawrence seeing Carlette again.
I think I would classify this more as contemporary and less as romance. There is romance in it, but it's not the main genre for sure. I liked the way the relationships between the sisters and the people of the village unfolded. The only thing that really pissed me off was that Star didn't want children for the whole book, but then she just has two and is suddenly fulfilled. I hate when authors do this. Let women not want children and be fulfilled. It really left a sour taste in my mouth after enjoying the rest of the book.
O'Leary is so great at characters, especially side characters. I loved Mr. Townsend, Poor Mandy, Jem, Grigg, Sameera, the Hedgerses, and of course I loved Izzy and Lucas too. Obviously, I knew going in that it was going to be a fade to black situation because that is Beth O'Leary's M.O., but man, I was PISSED that it was teased up so hard for multiple chapters and then wam...whatever the female equivalent to blue balls is. lol. I liked this one.
This was cute enough. It wasn't terribly exciting. Nice to have some bi male representation, but the chemistry between Lauren and Asa wasn't there for me. If she can't tell if he's making fun of her, best believe I also cannot tell. Maybe it would have been better if it was just a single POV? Ion know. It also would have helped if Daniel was a viable option for even a second. He was so obviously a twat that it wasn't believable to me that Lauren would be nervous around him regardless of his undescribed, but definitely there, hotness. It just missed for me.
The banter kept me smiling throughout this entire book. The lusting was pretty fantastic too, but the natural flirting between Beat and Melody had me tearing through. I love when book characters are around my age and I can catch all of the cultural references. Mr. Belding being the third in the love triangle was fantastic. This book got 5 stars from page 153 after my two favorite words in any language were uttered by Beat. Lol I loved the way Trina and Octavia came together at the end. I loved the Melody of the first half of the book. Her quips and the weird things she said. She was more in her feelings for the latter half and it felt like I was being told that she was great, but she wasn't doing anything anymore except being all moony over Beat. Still a 5 star read for me.
This was such a fun read. I loved Naomi and the fact that this story was told through only her perspective. I was rooting for her when she was wild and evil and then even more so when she was vulnerable and in love. From the prologue the author captured the feeling of being on a second date with someone you're super into perfectly. I could almost feel the butterflies. I could also feel the rage at D-Money and her baby boy. I was really resistant to seeing any positives in Nicholas, but I was won over so hard. He is a fantastic male lead. I got all dreamy about his hair and his eyes which I couldn't even picture clearly. I loved his love for Nightjar and the flowers and notes. I loved the teases we get throughout with almost kisses. It makes the inevitable coming together so much sweeter. I want to visit the Junkyard and the Backwoods Buffet (though I would be a little scared to eat there) and meet Leon and Brandy. I loved it.
Wow. This book should be called Kingdom of Tears. There are so many moments in this book that just made me weep like the baby I am. (Every other part of this review is spoilers...) When Manon put on her sister's crown, when Lysandra disguised herself as Aelin at the front of the battlefield and Aedion chased after her, when Elide flew across the plain on Farasha to get Lorcan, when Aelin used her stored up power meant for Maeve to stop the wave, when Elide and Lorcan confessed their love for each other, when the Crochan witches decided to follow Manon to Terrasen and the fucking hearth fire thing they did, when Aelin and Rowan were joking about the rumors whispered around them and Aelin started one saying that Rowan ate his enemies' eyes after pecking them out, when the Crochans arrived at Orynth, when Petrah saved Abraxos
Garth Nix: Unicorn ** This story was mid. Pretty weak start for team Unicorn.
Alaya Dawn Johnson: Zombie *** I love them. I want them to live happy forever. Naomi Novik: Unicorn ** Fairyland and chocolate milk!!
Carrie Ryan: Zombie * I did not care about home girl or her wanting to be like her dad.
Margo Lanagan: Unicorn * It was the exposed breast of the minor for me.
Maureen Johnson: Zombie *** I loved this one. Also, is the Angelina Jolie shade? Diana Peterfreund: Unicorn *** I want a baby unicorn. I don't mind if it eats people.
Scott Westenfeld: Zombie * This was weird, but I think I liked it? Meg Cabot: Unicorn *** This was the quintessential teen story from my teen years. This shit wouldn't pass the Gen Z lens, but I liked it. Cassandra Clare: Zombie ** This would have been higher if not for the romance among lynchings and picnics... Kathleen Duey: Unicorn * I hated this one. So depressing. Libba Bray: Zombie ** I liked this one, even if the dialogue was cringey. It was 2010 though, so...
Zombies = 20 *'s
Unicorns = 16 *'s
3 *'s overall.
I vaguely remember being team unicorn the first time through this in 2011, but I'm clearly team zombie now.
So, this was a meh for me. I liked the scenes from the show and the plot in general was good, but it was just kind of meh, ya know? I definitely want to read more of the series (and not just because I've already purchased the next one...) so I will reserve my full opinion of the author until I've read more. A big reason this was not it for me was that the spice in this gave me both the heebs and the jeebs. They read like either someone who has never had sex or someone who has only experienced sex as a dude wrote them. It was off-putting to say the least.
I feel like a “bag of smashed assholes” for posting this arc review so late. I loved this book, so I took my time with it. I love that it's dark and satirical (and metaphorical af), but also ridiculous and silly. I smiled and grimaced in equal measure the whole way through.
The rest of this will have spoilers, but I'm not tagging it because without context, none of it will mean anything. The Joe, Steve, Juan, etc. bit kills me. Rick and “My Tart Will Go On” Ugh. Just beautiful. Floyd might be my favorite character of all time. I loved his chemistry pun shirts and his adorable innocence. His relationship with Pepper, (Pepper in general <3) was so pure and supportive. I can't believe I freaking cried when Pepper and Floyd dogpiled on Ziggy. And Ziggy was the most lovable unlovable character. He was absolutely revolting, but I'd bring him donuts any day.
I almost feel like this book makes more sense coming to it as a fan of Mandy's skits on tiktok, than Reclaiming did. I love both books, but the silly and kind of grossness just made this one feel more Harker McNair. lol. I can't wait for the sequel. I need to know how the DipShip Super Serial team does. I can't wait for Alexia's death. I know it will be glorious. (Okay that was a mini spoiler...) These authors are just so smart and fucking hilarious. I just want to be best friends so we can make fart jokes and laugh about ultrachads and dude writing and sexy winged fae every day.
If you knew me at all in the late 90's and early 00's, you know I loved Britney Spears. I had posters, calendars, every CD, I made choreography to her songs, I had t-shirts, and pretty much every other fan paraphernalia that you could think of. My husband patiently let me show him multiple, what was then considered conspiracy theory videos. I followed the freebritney movement closely and up until her recent divorce was paranoid about her being okay. This book was exactly what I was expecting, which is equal parts depressing and relieving that she is in fact okay now. As much as I would love it if she decided to make more music or do an actual interview with a respectful journalist, I am also glad that she is only going to do it on her terms if/when she is ready. I hope the relationship between Britney and her kids gets repaired and I hope the rest of the Spears family gets what they deserve.
This book was lovely. A little House in the Cerulean Sea vibes. Grumpy X Sunshine is always best when the grumpy is secretly soft and the sunshine has depth. I loved every character, especially Jamie and the girls. Altamira's comedic timing with the Medusa the fish comment had me cackling. Mika and Primrose's relationship was sad and then sweet. I want to try some of Mika's teas. I love that the sweetest parts of this book include stardust and magic. My only issue is how swiftly the relief of the life altering trauma Jamie went through came and went.
Ugh! Cliffhanger!!! Okay to save myself from the annoyance of not remembering by the time the next one comes out, I'm going to summarize and then review: Jaren and Vera get to the Magyki island and meet their parents. Jaren's Dad's lied to him about Vera being dead because Vera's mom asked them to protect her and in order to protect him, they lied. Vera meets her dad, the king, but he's an ass and his fighter lady is an even bigger bitch. Vera meets Reniya who is now her protector. She keeps having visions about the original theft of the magic crystal and all the past queens died in this vision. The Aleron kingdom is about to get crazy because Elric and Trey (the weaponsmaster who raised Vera and her soldier friend) are planning a coup to put someone else on the throne. Prince Eithan has lost his marbles and is obsessed with having Vera as his wife. We left off with Vera being stuck in a vision seeing a naked dude cutting his hand on a broken crystal and Jaren is screaming down the hall. Eithan is fucking a girl that looks like Vera and Elric has intercepted Eithan's letter to Vera. Now to the review. Vera is not the best fantasy heroine. I think I fucked up reading the Throne of Glass series in between the first and second book of this series. The spice scenes are primo. Jaren is too possessive, to the point of annoyance. I liked this book, but I'm not as much of a fan as I was after the first one. I feel like it was unfinished. Not enough happened.
I thought this book was going to be less heartwarming romance and more smut. I was wrong. I loved Chase and Mad. I loved Ronan and Katie and Lori and Sven and Layla. I just loved everyone. I liked the banter as much as the sad moments. Her wardrobe was questionable, to say the least, but it's an easy way to add the “quirky” into an FMC. I really liked this book. I definitely will pick up more books from this author.
I liked this book way more than I thought I would. I read a few reviews beforehand and was prepared to find Emily insufferable. I actually loved her. Her naïveté and romantic ideals reminded me of Anne of Green Gables. She was manifesting the entire book and got everything she wanted. I loved Simon and his resemblance and fondness of dragons. The pacing was nice I appreciated the scenes shifting suddenly. I feel like with a lot of historical romances, the authors get caught up in painting the scene to make us feel the era we are in, but it's more exciting to jump to the good stuff. There was never a moment that made me bored. I will be looking into more Amanda Quick novels.
I was expecting more out of this. I feel like the revelation that Tobias was dead happened too soon. I can't keep rooting for a couple if one of them is dead, especially if they aren't really that great of a couple to begin with. I think if this book wasn't marketed as romance, I would have liked it more. The setting of the dinner with the 5 different people was interesting. The little sister's letters and deciding to have a relationship with her at the end was the only redeeming plot point. I just didn't like much else.
I knew they would all intertwine, but it still got me choked up at the end with just how much. I was a little confused at the start when the time period shifts started because it felt like it was almost not enough time to connect to a character before it shifted, but after a few more shifts I was fully invested. This was a subject that I knew nothing about and I love how passionate the author is about helping the existing dust children in Vietnam that have struggled with their identity, economically, and emotionally to find their extended family.
I knew it would be heavy, but I was not prepared. Johnny and his crush on Melissa. I cried when he passed. I loved reading about Will and Suleika's relationship. I'm kind of in love with Will at this point. Max and Suleika's friendship and his passing was really difficult to get through. I understand that these are real people, but Jaouad's storytelling is so great that at times if read like fiction. I loved the way certain memories weren't chronologically presented to give context to later memories. This is an excellent memoir.
I really thought I had figured out who Robin was before she was revealed. Lol. Not even close. I was so worried about Bob and Oscar. I feel like Robin deserved someone better than Adam. Finding a selfish writer as a partner when you are the child of one is just sad. Also, going from being fully on Amelia's side and stressing about her inhaler to literally looking forward to an asthma attack that will take her ass out was trippy. I have never switched feelings for a character faster. I really liked this book. I like that it made you think it was going in the unreliable narrator route, but it didn't. I loved the rock, paper, and scissors on the grave. I still think Adam is a pos and doesn't deserve to be with anyone, but... it was a good read.
I was really lucky in that I got the opportunity to ask all of the questions I had while reading this book directly to Katherine Center when she came to the bookclub I'm in. She not only answered every one, she also gave me some life answers I didn't know I was looking for. Joe/Oliver was, as the author puts it, swoony. He was ridiculous in his perfection. I loved that he was giggly and ticklish. The Kim family was lovely, Mr. Kim especially. When he bought Sadie's ugly painting for an exorbitant amount of money, I got teary. It did hurt me that Peanut had such a poor diet, but if Dr. Oliver says he's healthy, I'll take it. I found it refreshing that the evil characters stayed evil throughout, and even more refreshing that when I asked Katherine about it, she mentioned that she still holds grudges from grade school and said people don't redeem themselves in real life, so why should we expect them to in fiction. The greatest take away I got from the talk with Katherine was when she mentioned how important memory is in creating joy. When we think back on our memories, our minds only hold a few specific moments from the memory and our brain fills in the rest with fiction. Thinking of a few moments every day that bring you joy can change your outlook and train you to keep an eye out for those joyful moments so they become your lasting memories.
Blake Crouch is just such a beautiful human. The empathy and love for family that all of his characters have, while also being brilliant beyond comprehension, is just so refreshing every time I finish one of his books. I thought Logan was too unfeeling for most of this book because of his upgrade and I was upset that he just moved on from his wife and daughter, BUT HE DIDN'T AND I CRIED!! I loved that Ava was so excited to see him. I loved that Beth was still so in love with him. I loved that his sister still loved him. I wish she could have made it, but been in a forced coma or something until he sent out his empathy upgrade. I just loved it.
I loved the cast of this book. Gregorovich, Sparrow, Atari, all of them. That being said, this book was easily 400 pages too long. Kira was a slow hero. Learning about the “soft blade/seed” and what it was, could have been done in half the amount of words and still held the same meaning. I'm not a huge fan of heroes that act more on guilt than for justice or revenge, but I liked this book a lot. The writing wasn't poor or anything, but I wasn't excited to continue to pick this book up because the sheer number of pages left every time. I feel like for an epic novel, I shouldn't be able to sum up the entire story in 5 minutes and with this one I can. I will give props to Paolini for writing a believable female main character and not skeeve me out while reading.
The story and the romance are great, don't get me wrong, but the story telling is just not it. What should be the climax of the book is rushed through and there's no sense of satisfaction. Secmis is taken down in less than a page? The entirety of the hull galla are wiped in a chapter? The other 300 pages are just Ildiko worrying about the food larders and not being about to have a Kai baby and the almost, but not really romance between Kirgipa and Neco as they take 3/4 of the book to get the baby queen to Ildiko. This book series really needs an editor to force the author to flesh out the climactic bits. I still love Brishen and Ildiko so I'm going to finish the series, but probably not anytime soon.