emery
This book was incredibly stunning. Every single moment in this story I felt completely wrapped up in the story. I lost myself in the writing. By the time I reached the end, I felt so sad to be leaving it. I became very attached to every single character and felt my chest tighten at the thought of saying goodbye to them. I highly recommend it. especially to people who have a strong love for books.
I received this book from NetGalley and Penguin in exchange for an honest review!
This was exactly what I was looking for! I loved that it was spooky and mysterious without being over the top. I thought the story was super interesting and I liked that there was folklore in there as well. It really added to the whole atmosphere of the book.
My favourite part of the book was the characters though. I am a very character driven reader and I thoroughly was invested in these characters as whole. I thought Linden was very likeable and I was really invested in all her relationships and what happened to her. I really enjoyed the dynamic between the whole James family as well. Especially with the sisters! I'm not going to lie, the sisters could've been a bit more diverse in personalities but otherwise, I loved them! The parents, aunt and grandma were also great characters I could really feel. Cole was okay. I didn't love him as a love interest but I feel like that was because we didn't really see a TON of him. Linden and Cole's scenes together were a bit dominated by Linden, which is fine because I loved Linden, but it did make me not care as much about Cole.
This book grabbed my attention from the very beginning and never lost my interest throughout. I would definitely recommend it!
Ps. the subtle little queer rep at the end made my heart happy.
ended up just losing interest over time and didn't really have any motivation to pick it up. may revisit it in the future
while this book was difficult for me to focus on because of the way it was written, the story was very interesting. i think it's an important story to be told. Clara was such a strong person and i aspire to be as brave and determined as she was.
this book was honestly pretty annoying to read bc the main character was so unlikeable but the storyline was cute and it was fluff and i still enjoyed it.
This was very confusing honestly. With 3 different storylines? but I can't tell if they're actually different? I don't know I just couldn't keep up
I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!
Andrew Joseph White did it again. The Spirit Bares It's Teeth is an incredibly heart wrenching book while somehow also heart warming. It held the balance of being very hard to read due to graphic gorey scenes and then intimate scenes around friendship and identity and love.
I'm not going to lie, my two gore topics I avoid are eyes and pregnancy and this book hit both of them and yet I didn't ever want to stop reading. Andrew's writing is so captivating and poetic it's hard to put down. Even though this took me almost a month to read, it wasn't ever because I got bored or didn't want to be reading it. It was constantly on my mind and I already wish I could keep reading it.
The characters really embedded themselves in my heart. I was so deeply invested in their stories and what would happen to them. Silas felt very special to me as a person both in the trans community and neurodivergent. I related to the struggles he faced and how his mind worked. All the girls were also so well written and I wanted to know more about all of them, just like Silas. I was also so attached to the groundskeeper even if he wasn't in a ton of scenes. The element of spirits and the veil were both scary and intriguing at the same time. I really enjoyed that.
I am still fairly new to the horror genre but this is the first book that I've physically felt my heart pounding and my eyes trying to skip ahead to find out what happens and if the characters are okay. I was in such a state of anxiety but for once, it was enjoyable. It was a really intense reading experience.
This book has made me much more interested in looking into the history of forced institutionalizations of women / minorities. Horror based in history and real life hits so much harder and really opens my eyes to things I didn't put much thought into previously. Even if it isn't a completely accurate representation.
Overall, I would highly recommend this book!! I would especially recommend it to my fellow queer and neurodivergent readers because this just felt so special and I want more people to experience that! Thank you Andrew Joseph White for writing such incredible books and I can't wait for more!
CWs : graphic violence, sexual assault (both implied and on page), medical gore, on page c-section, abortion, transphobia, ableism, medical / psychiatric abuse, gaslighting, physical / emotional / verbal abuse, forced institutionalizations, body horror, dysphoria, torture, confinement, death of parent, murder, adult/minor relationship, self harm
This was, very unfortunately, a DNF for me. This may be a book I come back to in the future but, as of right now, it just really wasn't holding my attention. I didn't feel any sort of investment in the storyline or the characters and found myself only picking up the book to read 5-10 pages and then stopping. It wasn't catching my interest at all.
I've enjoyed other books by the author so it may be a wrong timing situation and I'm just not in the mood for it. I can't really pick out anything that I genuinely found wrong with the book at all. It was just a case of my attention isn't being held at all.
this book made my heart so warm. the sense of community and support made me cry! as a young queer person, this hit me hard. reading about someone finding themselves and their identity and breaking out their shell is so beautiful. i loved that the characters had flaws that they worked on throughout the book. none of the drama felt unrealistic or forced, nor did the growth. i related to nima a lot, especially when she would get in her own head and convince herself that she was boring or didn't fit in. everyone needs a community like she has in this. i would highly recommend this book to other young queer people!
I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This book is based on the “Girls Like Girls” music video by Hayley as well. I, surprisingly, had never seen the music video before so I went into this book knowing nothing about the story. I had some mixed feelings, mostly about the characters. I liked Coley but I didn't like Sonya like 85% of the time so I wasn't rooting for them for much of the book. But, at the same time, I think it told a pretty realistic story of a closeted girl really seriously struggling with her identity. That's never going to be a super happy fun story or character to read about so I still liked it regardless.
I went and watched the music video after finishing the book and, not going to lie, it made me cry. I can see why it was such an iconic and important video for queer people, especially women, when it came out. As a lesbian myself, both the video and the book did touch on a lot of things that felt very relatable. The confusion of liking a girl for the first time. The way it is very intense with the first girl. It's very true to how I experienced liking a girl for the first time.
Overall, I thought it was good! It could definitely be a bit cheesy / cringey at times but I don't think it took away from the story at all. If you liked the music video, I would 100% check out the book.
(ps, I loved alex so much)
This book was sooo cute! There wasn't much I didn't like about this one. I adored all the characters (especially Terri and Dylan). It was nice that they had realistic flaws but were still incredibly likeable characters I was fully rooting for the entire time. The message of the importance of family and following your heart were really special. I loved the relationship between Dylan and Aunt Jade. It was sweet and heartwarming. I also really enjoyed Theo and Terri's relationship and how much they supported each other.
I've always really liked the fake dating trope and this one did not let me down! The tension and mutual pining was so sweet and cute! It may have been a bit insta lovey but I don't mind that too much. I think when it comes to teenagers, that's not super unrealistic. I loved how much they cared about each other and the way they supported each other throughout this book, even when circumstances were difficult. They had a pretty healthy relationship in my opinion!
As a Kpop fan myself, I always laughed a little bit at how many times Blackpink were mentioned. I would definitely be friends with Megan. All the cultural references and explanations of the food were really great as well! It really made you feel involved in the story and made me want to eat all of it. I've never had a mooncake before, but this made me want one so bad!!
Overall, I thought this was a really heartwarming story that I would highly recommend!
Trigger Warnings: death of parent (mother x2), grief, parental abandonment, drowning (not fatal), alcohol, alcoholism/addiction, rehab, DUI, car accident, blackmail, emotional abuse, flooding, classism, cancer, toxic friendship, dementia
Rep: M/M, Chinese and Singaporean MCs
I've received this book through netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This book is easily one of the best books I've read this year. I've never been super interested in pirate stories before but this one immediately grabbed my attention. The characters are well developed and they make you root for them. The story isn't something I've seen much of around. It pulls the reader in from the very start. The main character is strong and smart and knows what she wants and goes for it. But she's also human and makes mistakes. It makes it so you feel for her and want her to succeed. I would highly recommend this to anyone that enjoys adventure and strong female characters!
Thank you to the author for sending me a copy of this book to review!
I enjoyed this a decent amount! Jerry was an intriguing character who I would love to learn more about. The same goes for the other characters! I think the combo of ships, lesbians and zombies is really fun and I haven't seen it done before! I am looking forward to reading the next book to see where all of this leads these characters.
arthie casimir runs spindrift, a tearoom that transforms into a blood house for vampires at night. her business is threatened and as a result, her and a ragtag group of outcasts have to set out on a heist.
this novel has:
a heist
high stakes
vampires
talks of colonialism and racism
found family
and a set of diverse characters
i think this book really shines when it comes to the characters and all the complex dynamics between them. i especially loved the dynamics between arthie and jin. there is always something special about found / chosen family in fantasy books for me. i liked that it had multiple POVs as well. it really helped get to know the characters since we do follow quite a few in this book.
the romance was always super fun to read. the tension and slow burn was a very enjoyable aspect. i liked the push and pull that was going on that made me want to yell at the characters at times (in the best way).
the action scenes were very well written, in my opinion, and kept me on the edge of my seat. i find in books like this, the action scenes can really make or break the book and thankfully they made it in this case. there was also plenty of twists and surprises thrown in that added a lot of fun to the reading experience.
the audiobook narrator captured the characters personalities very well and kept me engaged the whole time. there were rarely times that mind wandered while listening.
overall, i had a really fun time reading this book and, especially with the ending, i cannot wait to read the next book! would highly recommend this one.
this was a really sweet but simple manga. there wasn’t anything super special about it but it still was an enjoyable read! the pairing was very cute and their interactions were funny sometimes too