Maggie

okay who had “maggie reads a steamy monster romance” on their 2024 bingo cards

this book has everything: jocks who are questioning their gender identity, stoners who write poetry about quarterbacks, preppy girls who kiss theatre girls in the bathroom at a christian academy, an enby who loves mushrooms and is super into art, and of course, a lesbian enemies-to-lovers romance that is quite literally the most interesting romance i have ever read. and i hate enemies-to-lovers. everytime you think you know a character and why they act the way they do, mcquiston sheds light on a different faucet of them and shows you a new glipse on who they truly are. i laughed, i cried, and i felt oddly nostalgic about my own christian upbringing and closested high school experience. well done. 5/5. would read again.

“i never saw you as a monster”
“yeah, well. lucky you.”

fun way to start spooky season off right. came in for a graphic novel twist on frankenstein and that's exactly what i got. not much else to say.

3.5 rounded down because this was just not it.

it was good don't get me wrong. definitely addictive and consumable in a way that i love jennifer lynn barnes to deliver with the short chapters and first person pov and almost unreliable narrator at times.

but? it just wasn't IT.

the inheritance games got a 3.5 rounded up because it had promise. this gets a 3.5 rounded down because it didn't deliver. it seemed too easy to wrap everything up and im not even quite sure everything IS wrapped up.

i de f i n i t e l y recommend this book series but its not the climatic mega jaw dropping finish that bad blood for the naturals series was. i guess i was expecting that.

have a meme for my thoughts in a single image:

3.5 rounded up.. was cute but i dont have much else to say about it

this was SO GOOD

it was a cute little romcom for a majority of the book. hating each other to begrudgingly helping each other to becoming friends to falling in love-type tropes throughout the whole book.

but then... then the last 30% hit me like a freight train. maybe i'm a sucker for a mother-daughter relationship in a book but DAMN TWO OF THEM??

this is such a good book and i am so in awe. i can't believe this has been on my tbr for like 2 years and im just now getting to it.

this book hits harder as a queer christian. i am absolutely gobsmacked. from the moment i got to the first nick chapter i was HOOKED and couldn't even stop thinking about this book. i need more queer horror like this. and yes im already 50 pages into the spirit bears its teeth

this was so amazing!!
as an English Major i appreciated all the shakespeare references and the art style is quite literally immaculate. this was so so so so so so amazing.

i heard a couple differing opinions of this book but like as a reader who has no experience at all of 20,000 leagues this was quite literally one of the most wholesome stories i read this year. it made me laugh, it made my cry (yes for reals), and it had surprisingly good characterization and development. rick knocks it out of the park once again and im happy it is a stand alone.

i'm currently on a mission to find a graphic novel that WON'T make me ugly sob.

sad to say this one did not complete that mission.

beautiful story, even more beautiful artwork.

HIGHLY recommend listening to instrumental tloz soundtracks during the short read!!

this is a collection of found poetry, or blackout poetry. essentially kate baer has taken some of the most nasty, self-centered, and close-minded comments directed at her over the past few years and turned them into beauty.

some of these poems genuinely hit a piece of my heart inside me. some of them really made me feel seen.

this is first and foremost a feminist-centered book of poems but it touches on all aspects of being a good human: blm, anti-capitalism, anti-blind-patriotism, and body neutrality.

i would 100% recommend this book to anyone and everyone! especially considering it's a little under 100 pages so it's a quick read. i'll leave you with a poem that hit me:

“to love yourself is to love the world and find a place to live in it.”

remember when i said book one and two didn't have that distinct five star flavor??

well this?? this had the Flavor...

DAMN

4.5 on storygraph rounded down to 4

i loved this !!!!

for my first real romance book ive ever read i actually really really pleasantly was surprised on how much i loved this. the smut was a little -weird- for me to read so maybe im a closed door girlie?? i dont know.

will i read the rest of the series? i dont know i really just love viv and rhys so maybe not.

but wow! im just still in shock by how much i liked this!!

grapes, this book is delightful cover to cover!!

who would have guessed in the year 2023 i would come close to tears over an animated garlic bulb with anxiety and her carrot friend who believes in her.

with 160 pages, i don't just recommend this book... i BEG you to read this book. i'm requesting the second one from libby as soon as i'm done here.

10/10 perfection

actually a 2.5
pros: read it in about 1.5 hours, love a good biblical allusion, there were some genuinely unsettling parts
cons: literally everything else plot wise, ending was very rushed, i kept waiting for something... else

Way more of a psychological thriller than an actual horror book but god damn this book had me on the edge of my seat the entire ride!!! I blew through it in two days and wow. I am speechless. As a horror movie buff and also a novice writer I am blown away by the amount of intricate details sprinkled throughout the book that lead to one thing after the other.
I am recommending this book to EVERYONE I meet from here on out.
Also I cried over a plant. That's how good this book is.

this. was. breathtaking.

also this was recommended to me by my co-worker who also recommended it to my entire freshman class and like ?? i get that it's ya but damn!! it was some scurry shit!!

so beautifully written yet so harrowing at the same time.

this is definitely horror. bordering on body and/or gross out horror. if you think you can stomach it i plead with you to read it as soon as you can!

i UGLY cried to this book. not in a sad way. in a heartwrenchingly pure way.
coming to terms with sexuality is not guaranteed to fun, romantic, or even heartwarming story but this really takes all of those things and throws it into one perfectly wrapped up package.
i read this in 40 minutes and damn, , my eyes do be leaking tho.
i don't NEEED a sequel but like,, , , i wouldn't be upset if ostertag decided to give us a vingette of where morgan and keltie are 7 years later. or you know what? i think im better off just imagining a happy ending for them in my head.

pretty good!! nice little palate cleanser before the hunk-a-chunk that is winter's page count

~3.5

addicting. fun. slightly anti-climatic ending.

really 4.5 but..... WOW

read this on a COMPLETE whim because allisonpaiges recommended it as one of her fav books of all time and i saw it was short so sure why not??

i S O B B E D during this entire book in the best most spirit cleansing way possible. i needed this book.

“A leap. Look how precious you were. A spin. How worthy of love you were. A dip. Look at your heart, intact. Reach to the sky. What a miracle it was. Swoop to the grass. How steadily it beat for the people you love.”

second read through: very good but the audiobook was kind of... pretentious...
excited to read the second one now!!!

2.5 total.

it was very entertaining in the beginning, had a great premise i suppose. the middle and end fell flat. the mc was extremely unlikable, every adult in this book made no sense, the romance in this book made even less sense, and the reveal at the end was verrry rushed.

the entire thing read and felt like a pity party for this mary sue esque main character. everyone hated her ?? because she was average ??? oh but not the romance guy!! he thinks shes swell!! well, i hate to break it to you but there was no development on the mc's entire character that i dont think it was reasonable for ANYONE to have strong feelings about her, positive or negative ! ugh !!! i have so many feelings about this book but none of them are very constructive.

this book = the purge movies. both of them could have been infinitely better and the premise is amazing but execution sucks ass.

4.5 on storygraph

i really enjoyed this one!!! the vibes were spot on and i felt for a middle grade it really show complex emotions through the loss/grief elements the characters face

parts of the lore were a bit confusing but im hoping the next two books help to remedy that factor!!

i'm definitely gonna read on and i definitely recommend!!

i dont have any words. it's better than anything i could have hoped for.