Lili V
willnevergiveuponRH
This was actually one of the better handled RH stories. I liked the main character a lot, mostly because she wasn't afraid of embracing her crazy personality. The boys were pretty sweet to read about, although the boys themselves were anything but to the main character. The main intrigue is trying to figure out how the main character landed in the situation she's currently in – being a spirit that's ‘haunting' these four boys who are some flavor of underworld.
Pretty much if you love The Wall of Winnipeg and Me, you'll absolutely adore this book. I'm pretty sure I like this one more.
Loved the art style and I have always been a fan of sports anime which this is in comic-form. I can't wait to read more about the team and their interpersonal relationships, and how they all develop as characters. There's so much potential with all the groundwork that the authors laid down in these first issues of the comic!
I picked up the first issue from a Books-a-Million in Montgomery, AL while on a business trip and had to buy the first volume immediately after reading it. Looking forward to the next volume!
3 stars
First and foremost, the writing and execution were great. I enjoyed the pacing and the sentence structure is one I'm a fan of because it made the visceral experiences vivid and haunting.
The story, however, was heavy-handed. You were slapped across the face with the hints of betrayals and deception that when the actual they all come to light, I felt bad for the main character of course but also like I already saw it coming. If there were more to the story besides the heavy manipulation of the protagonist, maybe I would be more inclined to continue with the series but that was essentially all this book amounted to.
The biggest letdown were the characters and their relationships. None of them involving Maggie (except the wholesome father-daughter relationship with Tah) were developed beyond the surface. I wanted to believe that there was love in her previous partnership but there was so much telling and no showing, everything about their partnership was perfunctory and no budding chemistry whatsoever. The new partnership was more believable but again, where was the chemistry. EVERY single character was more interested in hinting and outright pointing out how Maggie wasn't seeing all of her own potential that it didn't leave any room for friendships, or relationships in general to bud and blossom in the short length of the book.
So good! Another fabulous installment in this incredible series. How the author can construct such complex yet conceivable plots is astonishing and absolutely thrilling to read.
I have to agree with another review I read that most of this information would seem well known to someone within the tech world but as someone adjacent to it, I found it incredibly insightful and for the most part comprehensive of the main issue, if missing some depth on the root cause of the misogyny.
I'm still very grateful to have read this book because, personally, it's opened my eyes to my own desires and aspirations to change the narrative/culture of workplace sexism and racism. It's honestly inspired me to do more research about how I can be a better ally but most of all, advocate for myself and my worth. Lessons I probably should have learned a few years ago but never truly had the connections/resources/guidance to lead the way. This has given me a better idea of how I can do it for myself. For that, I am grateful.
Cute quick read about a girl who lost her best friend and decides to live a little by sexing up the cute tattoo artist they both spotted but never approached.
Solid 4 stars.
Really enjoyed the audiobook and will be buying the physical book. Love so many parts but really appreciate the inclusion of her experience as a Black student and the impact that her teachers had on her adolescence (both good and bad, they were full of nuance) and how early it opened her eyes to the adult racist behaviors around her.
Solid 3.5 stars.
This book caused a lot of questions about Communism, Capitalism, freedom, changes in government to cross my mind which I enjoyed immensely. This book is a great conversation starter. I would recommend going into this one knowing the structure of the book so you're not surprised by what you read. The first half/part of the book is about Bulgarian dancing bears that Gypsies in that region trained/forcibly domesticated to be “entertainment” as a form of occupation. After the Soviet Union collapsed, all of the these bears were collected and sent to a refuge to be introduced bit by bit to “freedom”. Hands down, this was my favorite section of the book because it was very well paced and executed; the sections had titles like ‘Love', ‘History', ‘Negotiation', that provided sufficient insights into how dancing bears as a practice came to be and how the Bulgarian Gypsies view these animals as a part of their families. (The pictures were weirdly placed in the direct center of the book so they're at the beginning of the second half which is a big departure from the first half. They were quite stunning though, emotionally.)
The second half of the book mimicked the first in the section titles but each one was about a different country that was impacted by the fall of Communism; what it did to the people's lives, their jobs, the state of ethnic disputes, their economy, etc. It also really dropped the reader into the daily lives of the people being interviewed which was vastly more interesting than I would have expected. However, I can't say the author executed this particularly well, because if you have no real sense of history about these countries already (as I didn't) then there's a lot that you are taking at face value. This was both good and not so good. I didn't have sufficient context that I could rely on when it came to certain countries state of affairs but I, nonetheless, enjoyed these bits I learned about Ukraine entering into the EU, Albania's many toadstool-like bunkers, and Estonia's citizens without citizenship and the great number of Estonian Russians. This honestly fanned a flame that I didn't know was burning in a corner of a my mind because I really would like to learn more about Eastern European history and how Capitalism in some of these countries was less welcomed (if at all) than others and their views on it. Absolutely fascinating.
Norah Bloom seems to come up a bit short when it comes to her extracurriculars for her college applications. With the help of Audre–Norah's quirky, self-assured skinny-cord-leopard-print-wearing best friend–Griffin–the “cutie manning the soy latte counter”–and Scott–her gayish best friend who is the infinite confidence booster, and probably the most organized person she knows–Norah builds up her own a group based on what she likes to do most. Drink lattes and read. As the members pile in–some accidentally, some by obligation–Norah has a revelation when she realizes that she has a lot more in common with one particular member, and needs to devise a plan to snatch him up because she knows it's up to her to make the next step. After staying up one night reading one of her secret romance paperbacks, Norah finds that she has the to needs to lure James into her feminine entrapment.
Using her younger sister, Norah finds that she can actually look pretty decent with some make-up ans the cough right clothes. Using her best friend's college-ruled brother and James's best friend, Neil, she tries to make James a green-eyed monster–not totally unsuccessful, fortunately. Both times hilarious with just a pitch of humiliation. Using Philippa Askance, her favorite novel-writer of all time, as a common ground; this mix-matched group are bound together by some soon-to-be-unveiled secrets that reveal the full potential if their book group. And if some of these events aren't shockingly hilarious enough, get ready to be writhing on the floor when you come upon the ending. Where just one slight, whispered statement from James unravels everything. I guarantee that by the time you finish A Novel Idea, it will make you want to get a hold of the nearest guy handy and say “pucker up, dammit.” Who knew that Norah was going to end up being one of those subway-couples that she “used to” make her gag.
A Novel Idea is one of the first romantic-comedies I have ever read. It's witty, comical, passionate (especially for reading, which was what really drew my attention to this book). It met my comedic expectations as a YA reviewer, which I really wish more YA books had, a laughing side. It gives a good name for all other RCs out there. Recommended to the single (and coupled) gals out there who want to read something they can laugh at, blush, and say “aww” too.
This has to be my least favorite book by one of my favorite authors. It had more to do with the letter writing and Ruby's character than anything else. I wouldn't have minded the email/letter writing format if it was less friendly and more romantic. I know that friendship can lead to falling in love with someone but I didn't see any gradual increase in romantic interest between Aaron and Ruby. They seemed for the most part just really supportive friends. It was obvious when Aaron started falling for Ruby but it was only because the obvious pauses here and there in his texting hinted that he was feeling some type of way.
Ruby's character was a lot more immature than I thought she would be because she has had more experience with men than I have but her anxiety around them was a lot more pronounced than I would expect. Granted I can definitely empathize with her when it comes to being anxious about being in a new environment and social situation but I guess I was expecting her to be more level-headed like other characters the author has written about. My problem with Ruby is more subjective and if you see it coming then I don't think you'll share my opinion so I just wanted to post about it here for anyone who wants to go in with their eyes open.
Obviously as soon as I finished the previous book, I had to continue because things were finally starting to spice up–we all saw this coming from a mile away once we knew Dylan was out of the picture.
Speaking of Dylan, I wish the author would just let him go, there's literally no reason for him in this book other than to be another boy who's interested in Lexie but doesn't know how to get a clue. There were already too many of those boys (most of which were pointless anyway).
When I found out who the stalker was I was kind of surprised it was who it was. Mostly because I didn't really think he was a significant enough to have such a big role in the story to begin with. I really don't like reading stalker plots because they just frustrate me IRL and on the page. I hated how prolonged his abuse was, it only caused Lexie to feel harassed and helpless at times. It also feels like a copout because it gives the author the opportunity to suspend progression of the plot and potential relationships that the readers really care about and replace it with a formulaic recovery process. I understand the necessity since the author had chosen to add the stalker plot, it figured things would escalate and nothing would be the same between Lexie and the guys. It just felt like such a copout. I honestly would have been perfectly fine with learning more about Lexie and her abilities than about some stupid fuck who would hurt her for a day and fuck with her emotionally for the rest of her life.
First of all, the MC is living my fantasy lol. Being an English major able to recite poetry is my dream - as someone who had to take the business route in college, I always dream of what could have been.
As always, in some of my favorite reads, the characters always have to be up to my standards because they're my favorite part of any fiction book I read. I truly enjoyed reading about all of them, except the foster siblings that left of whom we only get a brief glimpse. I could read a whole book about each of their backstories. Their separate stories would provide great context to the overall plot but also provide a diversity of experiences inside the home. (That's all I'll say without going into spoilers, because oh boy is there a diversity of experience.) The author builds great tension through the book by mirroring the MC's reconnection with each of the foster kids to the growing horror of each of their lives after leaving the Capellos' home.
Such great writing, especially with the transition of the buildup when the MC travels to see her foster family again to slowly leading into the more mysterious climax of what happened in the past that forced her to leave. Also, there's an ease with which the author approaches sex in all of her books that I once again appreciated in this one. I almost wish this book was a first in a series because the ending truly felt like a beginning and I would love to delve deeper into the complexity of the relationships because we're left feeling like we're on a balance beam, so much potential for things to tip one side or the other while trying to keep the balance of secrets and lies just right.
Really am enjoying this series. The MC is hilarious and overall a really well-rounded and quirky character. I saw this ending coming since I finished book one so it wasn't a surprise but everything that led up to it was; and it was really fun to read. The Abcurses were their usual steamy selves and it made the MC appropriately swoony but overall I really love how their friendship has become stronger in this book. It was nice to see how they developed a connection that's slowly becoming the basis of their slow relationship.
It is ridiculous how fast I finished this series, this book specifically. To reiterate, freaking amazing writing, absolutely beautiful. Great ending to the series, nothing was excessively drown out without resolving some major plot lines. We got closure for pretty everything that was left unresolved and I couldn't get enough of the perfect love that threaded through all the people that surrounded Seraph. Seraph and her two pairs got even sweeter in this book because when most characters are faced with adversity, it tests their relationships and gives them room to either flourish or crumble. The boys especially bloomed in this book. They still had the baggage they always carried around–as did Seraph–but they were able to beat down not only their own barriers but hers as well by accepting who they were to each other.
Overall had a great time with this series.
Really fun and quirky, with just the right amount of heat! :)
Badass mysterious heroine, bounty-hunting, vampire who cares, cool magical world intertwining with the regular world.
Really steamy romance about a dancer and her recovery over a lost love. I don't think Danni and Trace made as good of a match as Cole and Danni. The glimpses we see of Danni and Cole in the past were really sweet and the love between the two was jumping off the pages. I wish the summary didn't spoil what was going to happen in the book because it doesn't happen until the very end of the book, so fair warning now. It was a fast read and very hot. Not sure if I'm going to continue the series in the future since the ending seemed a little forced. I feel like the cliffhanger that happened should have occurred a bit sooner in the book.
This was a good quick sexy read. I'm a fan of the author's writing style when it comes to developing romance because it's descriptive but also blunt which I really appreciate. She doesn't put in the extra fluff that other author's do that makes you want to roll your eyes or gag. (Really like her Forever Evermore trilogy, not a fan of the spinoffs.)
Overall a great second book to a series. We mostly saw the dynamics of all the relationships in the book and the plot progressed a bit with the main ghost-related storyline. I really came to like Lexie's character even more in this book because the author made it clear to see that she's such a genuine person and blunt about what she means and doesn't try to sugarcoat anything. It's refreshing to say the least. I wasn't in complete agreement with how the handled the relationships in this book but ultimately, I'm glad Lexie–with a little help–stood up for herself. She wanted the boys to be happy but obviously if she's not happy, they're not going to be happy.
There was one relationship that I knew was going to fall apart before I read the book because I read spoilery reviews. I'm honestly sad that it ended because the set up for it was executed very well, and I could see this couple staying together for a while. With all the exposure we got in this book of the male character–won't say who–I didn't really believe his reasoning for breaking things off. The break-up I could see coming from a mile away once a specific event occurred. It all seemed very pre-staged and predictable.
However, that one break up didn't detract from my enjoyment of this book at all. Lexie and the guys were great, their respect and love for one another is beautiful and supportive.