bee

”It's weird how easily you can get to know someone from the traces they leave behind when they go.”

This book has been on my tbr for the longest time and I am so glad that I have finally picked this up and given it a go.

I felt so connected with Tiffy, especially in the moments where she spoke about her ex and her fears that he had ruined her for any future relationships. As someone who was in an abusive relationship, I related to her on a strong level. I feel like these are characters that I will be missing.

I loved that their first main form of communication was in sticky notes. It was so sweet that they were building a connection without the added pressure of meeting. I haven't read a book where the main female protagonist doesn't meet the love interest until almost halfway through the book. It was super interesting and fun to read.

Richie, I love you.

I really enjoyed this and I am interested to read more by this author in the future.

”Remind myself that there is no saving of people—people can only save themselves. The best you can do is help when they're ready.”

Fake relationship trope? Sign me up.

This was such a cute and fast paced read. It was another great example of a rom-com that you can't help indulge yourself into.

Dean and Solange's banter had me laughing out loud on more than one occasion and you could feel their chemistry oozing from the pages. I loved reading about Solange's culture and her family, it was such a nice addition to the story.

I found that the second half of the book didn't hold my attention as much as the first did and that's why I couldn't rate any higher than what I had.

p.s. I would love nothing more than to eviscerate Dean's poem from my brain forever.

”Maybe we all have to make peace with that night, with the fact we're here and they're gone.”

I'm not usually a fan of young adult thrillers/slashers but this book surprised me and I found it difficult to put it down once I picked it up.

I would love to see this in movie form. The suspense and mystery were fantastically written and I was left trying to piece together what was going to happen next.

Jo was such a strong protagonist. She had been through a horrific trauma earlier in her life but she still managed to remain level-headed and act courageously in this time of crisis. I also admired her passion for becoming a doctor because of everything she's been through, it was a little detail that I appreciated being included.

I'm intrigued to read more from this author. This was great!

Thank you to NetGallery and SOURCEBOOKS Fire for providing me this arc!
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

“You know what sucks about love?”“What?”“That it's so tied to the truth.”

Was this my favourite book from John Green? No. However, this was such a fun read and kept me entertained from start to finish.

There were moments of this book that I loved and then moments that I didn't. I loved the characters in this book and I think that's why I rated this as high as I did. Tiny was such a highlight for me and brought so much to this story.

This was a classic coming-of-age story. It made me feel that I had been transported back to high school. I truly felt like I was reading a story from teenagers and I loved that. I also loved that at the very core of this book, it was the love of friendship that won.

I felt like something was missing from this that would've made me give it five stars but overall, I enjoyed this!

”Hello. I hope somebody is listening...”

This is the last book of Alice Oseman's that I have to read until I am finished with their works and I can happily say I am such a fan. There is something so special about their writing and the way that every single book of theirs is never the same as the others.

I love that these books approach and tackle topics that are difficult for some in a way that is so special and important to read.

This wasn't my favourite out of all their works but it does hold a very special place in my heart. When reading an Alice Oseman book, you can always expect two things — fantastic representation and heart-warming friendships.

I think it's ridiculous that at such a young age we are expected to know and plan what we want to do for the rest of our lives.

This story reminded me that it's important to surround yourself with the people you don't need to be perfect for. Put on your Batman onesie and just be goofy. Be yourself. You're worth it. You don't need to be successful to be happy.

Alice Oseman, you are amazing.

”Your touch is the only thing keeping me from losing my mind.”

I haven't read a dystopian in so long and this book has reminded me why I love them so much.

I have only heard good things about this series but I wasn't expecting to become so absorbed into this story from the very first chapter.

I found myself wanting to delay finishing this, despite wanting to consume it in one sitting because I didn't want it to be over.

The characters in this book are all so unique and I am so interested in reading more about them.

This book was such a good start to a series. It makes me feel so nostalgic because this is exactly the type of books I loved growing up and this has just brought back all those memories and love for this genre. Shatter me is captivating, exiting and I am so excited to read what's next.

“You're my bird and you're going to help me fly away.”

The movie adaptation to this series will always hold a special place in my heart and I am so happy that I finally decided to pick up the books.

Fake relationship is probably one of my favourite tropes so obviously this immediately had me hooked.

I really loved Lara's relationship with her sisters. As someone who has two sisters and is close with them, it felt really easy to connect to Lara and her love for her family.

This book felt so nostalgic in the way that it reminded me of how it felt to be sixteen and being around the people I had crushes on. It reminded me of how when one thing went wrong back then, it felt like my whole world was collapsing. It was really nice to teleport back to a place I hadn't been for a very long time.

Peter Kavinsky... I love you

I loved this and I can't wait to read the rest of the series.

“Imagine truly believing that God loves all of His Children, except when they love each other the wrong way.”

This book has been on my tbr list for so long and I am so glad I took the time to pick it up and give it a try.

I appreciated the way that Christina Lauren portrayed the topics surrounding religion and sexuality. As someone who once was religious and now has a very negative relationship with religion due to how it affected my acceptance of my sexuality, this book hit me like a tonne of bricks.

I spend years trying to justify and fix who I was after being made to feel that something was wrong with me for feeling the way that I do. It was so comforting reading Sebastian's story of self discovery and acceptance.

It's not very often that books have bisexual representation so I loved that we got to see that with Tanner.

I would've loved to have seen the confrontation between Sebastian and his family at the end, rather than hear it from Sebastian's summary of what happened in the Epilogue. I feel like the whole story was building up to that moment and it was a conflict that needed to be addressed first-hand on page.

This is definitely a comfort book for me.

“He falls in love under a sky full of stars.”

Well... this was not what I was expecting.

This book was so original and I definitely haven't read anything quite like this. It was suspenseful and fast-paced. It was a classic horror novella.

I love slashers so this was right up my alley. Sawyer was a character that you couldn't help but root for, despite his horrific actions. I would say more about my thoughts on the plot but I think this is a good book to go into blind.

The ending left me feeling unsatisfied and that's why I couldn't rate this any higher than I had.

This was a super interesting read. It was suspenseful, fast paced and left you wanting more.

I really enjoyed the mystery of this book and finding out clues along with the characters. I could never guess what was about to happen next. This book would make a great movie.

Sadly, there were a few things that I had issues with. I felt like I wasn't able to connect with the characters in a way that I would've liked. I believe it was because none of the characters felt real to me, I could barely feel any emotions from them.

I hated the ending to this. It was so chaotic and unrealistic and left me wishing that Coates and Garrett could have suffered for all that they had done, rather than what actually happened.

This was definitely a 3.5 read but I rounded it up to 4 stars

”It was a long time ago.”“And yet I imagine it's not the kind of thing that ever really leaves you?”

This was the first Sally Hepworth book that I read and I can honestly say I absolutely loved this. Every single second of it.

The fact that it was set in Australia and written by a fellow Australian too just made it even better for me.

There were so many twists and turns in this book that was easy to struggle with who to trust which is what I love in books, especially ones like this.

Each character had their own struggles and secrets from the past or from the present. I felt like I was going on a journey along with the characters as they figured it out themselves.

I will definitely revisit this in the future.

This is one of those books that are perfect to pick up if you're wanting a good escape to a rom com. It's one of those cliche rom-coms that are so successful at sucking you in.

I am loving the bodyguard trope at the moment and I really want to find more books that include it.

My only wish is that it wasn't so rushed. I would've loved for there to have been more moments between Harrison and Piper so the romance between them felt more authentic.

That all being said, I laughed and I enjoyed this and I think that's all that matters.

“Someone else's actions may affect you. But what other people choose to do is about them.”

Fake relationship trope? Say no more.

This was so cute and had me laughing on multiple occasions. The banter between Oliver and Luc actually reminded me a lot of Red, White & Royal Blue and that was super fun for me.

Complicated relationships with fathers is something a lot of people can relate to. I understand that not all of our fathers are rockstars but the sentiment of having an estranged father wanting to be a father only on their terms is still relatable and heartbreaking to all people who read this or endure it in real life. I'm happy that there wasn't a redemption arc or an attempt to make us feel somewhat sympathetic for Jon.

I have a lot of words when it comes to Oliver's parents but all I am going to say is and mind my words for a moment, they are pieces of shits.

I would've liked if the romance was given more time to develop but overall, I really enjoyed this!

“Relearning you has been the best thing that's ever happened to me.”

I'm going to be completely honest, I wasn't sure if I was going to enjoy this when I first started reading but when I got through the first chapter? I was hooked.

This book is so funny and I found myself laughing out loud and receiving odds looks from whoever was around me.

Naomi and Nicholas are everything to me. They are so chaotic and had me giggling on numerous occasions. I don't know what it is about this book that scratched an itch in my brain but this is most definitely a comfort read for me.

Being able to read Naomi and Nicholas fall in love with one another again was so beautiful.

This is one of the best rom coms that have ever rom comed.

“Sometimes things that appear very different on the surface are actually exactly the same at their core.”

I have heard nothing but great things about this book and more specifically, this series.

This was such a fun read. It was chaotic and had me laughing at the most silliest things. I can see myself in a lot of these characters, (minus the great wealth, of course). The idea that someone like Avery and Libby, who struggle with money, horrible men and only surviving by pay check to pay check, becoming billionaires overnight was such a cool idea to me. It felt like I was reading the Underdogs finally succeeding.

It was so much fun trying to figure out the puzzles and clues along with the characters. It made me feel apart of the story.

I think it's always good to go back to your roots with Young Adult because there's something so nostalgic and comforting about the genre. It's easy to get swept up in the daunting realism of other genres so it was nice for me to feel some escapism in a world that would never include me whilst still having real feelings brought into it.

The ending? I actually gasped

I am super excited to read the other books in this series and see what comes next.

“But I think it'll be okay. We'll both be okay.We've survived worse, after all.”

This book had great potential and I went into this with an idea of how I wanted it to be, perhaps I shouldn't have done that.

I would've loved if the survivors guilt and the actual grief was further explored because I feel like it wasn't focused on enough, or in a way that made me feel something.

What did make me feel something was Denny and the essay that he had written. I would've loved more from his perspective.

I felt like Lee pressured people into writing letters about their traumatic experience with the shooting and that didn't sit well with me. I understand she was ready but it didn't mean that everyone else had to be too.

The things I didn't like aside, I enjoyed the characters and the journeys that this story brought me on with them. Denny was such a funny character and I loved him immediately.

Coach Nolan, you deserved better.

Oh. My. God.

I think that's the only relatively coherent thoughts that I will be able to give for when it comes to this book.

Holly Jackson never disappoints. She never fails to leave me holding onto the edge of my seat, wondering what is going to happen next. She always seems to know exactly what plot twists and turns to write that I never see coming.

This is the perfect example of unreliable narrator/character. There is never one point in this book that you feel completely certain that someone is innocent. I spent majority of this book questioning everyone and I mean everyone.

I absolutely loved this and it's definitely going to be put down as one of my favourites of the year (yes, I know it's only just started).

Holly Jackson, I love you

“You make me wish for all the things I shouldn't.”

I have been wanting to read this for so long and I am so happy I finally picked it up.

The idea of going your whole life without knowing who your father is only to find out that he is actually royalty and you're a princess who now has to learn to adjust to this new, extravagant life? I am obsessed.

This was such a fairytale romance and I loved every minute of it. I absolutely squealed and kicked my feet like a high school girl whose crush just asked me out. I am not afraid to admit that!

I have the biggest crush on both Izumi and Akio. I am sickeningly in love with him that it's not funny.

I loved being able to read how the relationship between Izumi and her father developed. It was so beautiful watching them learn how to love and accept one another as who they are.

Sometimes predictable and cliche rom-coms are a necessary read and this is one of them.

“I think the truth is that everyone in the entire world is confused and nobody understands much of anything at all.”

Alice Oseman... you will forever be one of my most favourite authors.

I have said this so many times in my reviews for Oseman's other works but I absolutely love the way realism is brought into these stories. The characters are always so raw and relatable that it's so hard not to find some type of attachment or connection with them.

Every single character brought something so special to the story. They each had their own struggles that they were dealing with. This wasn't about romance or fame, this was about real life.

This book showed the point of views of the fan girl and the boy from the band. I think it was so interesting to see how both sides experienced the same things. I don't think people realise that celebrities at the end of the day do not owe us anything, especially when it comes to their personal lives. This portrayed the positives and negatives of celebrities and their fandoms perfectly.

I'm not a religious person at all and I have a very negative relationship with it due to past experiences but I do have to say that I appreciated reading about Angel and Jimmy's relationship with it.

I love that Oseman always is so diverse with her works. The two main characters are hijabi Muslim and mixed race and trans and I really deeply appreciate how she writes stories that everybody can view themselves in.

I really loved this and I would love to revisit it again in the future.

Riley Sager will always remind me exactly why Thriller is my favourite genre.

This was a super interesting read. It was dark and ominous and kept me guessing. I love the way Sager makes the narrator unreliable, it always leaves me wondering if I'm able to trust what the main character is thinking or seeing.

Emma is the perfect example of an unreliable narrator. It's very evident throughout the whole book and made clear from the title that Emma hasn't been completely honest when it comes to the disappearance of her friends fifteen years ago. It's also revealed later on in the story that Emma experiences hallucinations and suffered from a mental episode that left her hospitalised.

There were so many times where I thought I had figured out what had happened or what was going to happen and I was wrong every time. I was not expecting the ending of this book.

The only reason I didn't give this higher than four stars was purely because I felt like I couldn't connect with some of the characters as much as I would've liked.

Overall, I really enjoyed this and would love to revisit it in the future.

“When I come out to them, I want them to know that bisexuality is valid, and I want them to know that bisexual love stories are as possible and beautiful and lovely as any other.”

It's been a while since I've been able to sit down and enjoy a good sapphic romance so I decided to pick this up since it's been in my tbr for so long.

I loved the idea and setting behind this. The fact that the two main characters give such wonderful representation fills me up with so much comfort and joy.

I wish there would've been less focus on the straight relationships of this book because I wanted it to centre more around the development of Sophia and Emma's relationship. I loved the conflict surrounding Sophia and Emma with their parents. That's also what I wanted the focus on.

Being afraid of your parents reaction to you coming out is such a large issue and fear that people apart of the community face and I loved that aspect of this book and would've loved more of it.

Overall, this was a cute story and I enjoyed it.

I hardly ever read poetry but I've decided this year that I'm going to branch out of my comfort zone and see what else is out there.

I loved the horror movie concept to this collection of poems. Horror movies have always been such a comfort thing for me and it was super fun to see them brought to life in another way.

Not only was this a great collection to read, it always encouraged me to read any of the movies that were referenced that I hadn't seen. I believe if I had of seen more of the movies that I would've marked this as a five star read so I might revisit this in the future and change my rating.

Overall, I really enjoyed this.

”You can destroy wood and brick, but you can't destroy a movement.”

This book has been on my tbr for the longest time and I decided to make it my first read for 2023. I am so glad I did.

I don't think any words I can say can express what I truly felt about this book because it was so beautifully written and covers such important topics that need to be spoken about.

As a white person, I will never understand how terrifying it is to just simply exist because there are people who believe it's okay to judge and make assumptions based on the colour of your skin.

This book might be a work of fiction but the the injustice and racism that it contains is very real. Khalil's story might just be fiction but what happened to him happens to real people. There are countless victims who just like Khalil, lost their lives because of the people who are sworn to protect them. That isn't fiction.

It's always innocent until proven guilty until it's a black person. Then it's ”oh, but did they resist?” or ”they must've done something wrong. Bigotry and prejudice should have no place in the justice system. It should have no place at all.

I can't articulate properly how this made me feel. This is a very important read that I think everyone should pick up. I wish I could give it more than 5 stars.

“The thing about fear is, it doesn't go away once the most terrible thing has happened. It compounds, so you expect more terrible things to happen. You wait for them”

I will admit that I went into this with the assumption that there was a huge possibility that I would be disappointed based on my past experiences with Young Adult Thrillers but I wanted to give it a try anyway.

I feel like this story had huge potential to be a five star read. It felt like it had the chance to leave me on the edge of my seat. When the book first started, I was getting the same vibes of Kill Joy by Holly Jackson but as the story continued, the characters and the execution of the plot fell quite short for me.

Each chapter seemed to follow the inner monologue of a character but I found it difficult to decipher between them as they all felt too similar. When I'm reading a book, I need a character or characters to root for so I can feel attached or remotely interested to see what happens to them but with this, I didn't feel anything and honestly? Most of these characters were just evil and twisted.

I love mysteries and thrillers but I think the art of what make them great for me is when they are realistic to the point you can picture yourself apart of the story.

I'm giving this three stars because I liked the idea of the plot and there were times where I enjoyed it but I can't rate it any higher than that.

“I've never said it to anyone before, it didn't feel like I always thought it would.” “How did you think it would feel?”“Getting it over with. Like ripping off a Band-Aid.” “And how did it feel instead?”“The reverse. Like putting a bandage on. Wrapping it tight.”

I attempted the audiobook for this and stopped it after the first few chapters because I realised that perhaps audiobooks aren't for me so I ended up just reading on my kindle as usual.

Despite how popular this book is, I was actually shocked by how much I enjoyed it. On the outside this book could seem to be viewed as just a small town romance but it ended up being about self acceptance.

Piper felt like she didn't belong anywhere and that nothing she did was ever good enough. I loved reading and seeing her journey to self love and learning that she never had to change a thing about herself, she just had to accept and understand that she has always been more than a few clicks and likes, she had people in her life who valued her as a person off-screen.

Brendan was such a good character and I found myself shouting at the universe ”when is it my turn?” because he was such a good book boyfriend with how encouraging, supportive and overall good guy he was.

This would've been a five star for me if I could have potentially gotten closure when it came to Piper and Hannah's mother and Opal, their grandmother. I'm a sucker for happy endings and this gave me one but I would've loved for it all to have been tied together in that way. I also wasn't particularly fond of the miscommunication in this book since it felt slightly out of left field when the communication had been so perfectly executed throughout the whole book except this one instance.

Overall, this was a super fun and sweet read.