i think i need to embrace that this author's writing just really isn't for me ([narrator voice] she says, four books into this series). i was bored ani think i need to embrace that this author's writing just really isn't for me ([narrator voice] she says, four books into this series). i was bored and cringing at this book's writing a lot more than i was enjoying the story. parts of it i appreciated, like the gentleness that stemmed from and the uniqueness of a pregnant main character. but everything else in this i thought was overwritten and overdramatic. even though i read half of this in one sitting, when i put it down i totally forgot it existed for a few days and ended up skimming the last 40-ish percent because i decided i didn't care...more
wait omg i forgot i read this, i need to circle back and review. i definitely downloaded this as a joke on stuff your kindle day because the title waswait omg i forgot i read this, i need to circle back and review. i definitely downloaded this as a joke on stuff your kindle day because the title was entertaining but was surprised when i started it that it was lowkey well written!! not the greatest thing ever penned but i expected to open this, cringe and delete, but i read the whole thing. was it entirely unrealistic? absolutely. but what is christmas without delusional fiction escapism?...more
i can't describe to you the way i dropped EVERYTHING, like literally mid-sentence stopped what i was doing, to buy this book when my best friend said i can't describe to you the way i dropped EVERYTHING, like literally mid-sentence stopped what i was doing, to buy this book when my best friend said it had come out this week. this sequel was HIGHLY anticipated because games with an orc is one of my top books of the year, and i read this in two sittings.
i really liked the way these characters were compatible! both had good personalities and the approach to their relationship was both wholesome and horny.
but this wasn't my exact cup of tea and some of the plot was a bit weak to me, like the sideplot that the fmc was in a band, miscommunication trope, and a couple other things.
the one mothman book i've read was kinda cringe so honestly i don't have the *highest* hopes for the next one in this series, but kathryn moon is such an auto-buy author that even if i end up giving her books three stars, it means i still flew through them!...more
i can't believe i never marked this as read on goodreads because it is CRITICAL to this series!!! it is SO GOOD!!! i can't believe i never marked this as read on goodreads because it is CRITICAL to this series!!! it is SO GOOD!!! ...more
this snippet was pretty boring and confusing. a 60 page novella shouldn't take like 2 weeks to read lol
i do like that shade is in this one and you getthis snippet was pretty boring and confusing. a 60 page novella shouldn't take like 2 weeks to read lol
i do like that shade is in this one and you get a little backstory of their whereabouts before the action of red queen, but largely this seemed like extra info that doesn't become relevant in a really confusing format. a swing and a miss....more
god, i was expecting this book to flop but it's been a couple days since i finished it and i can't stop thinking about it. even though the contents ofgod, i was expecting this book to flop but it's been a couple days since i finished it and i can't stop thinking about it. even though the contents of this novella are referenced in book four, i'm glad i read it after the series to get the full context. i'm sure it also works great as a prequel or to read it in between the actual storyline. the calore family stays slaying (view spoiler)[(and slain, in some instances) (hide spoiler)]...more
i've been missing how productive i was in college when i would listen to audiobooks all the time as i cleaned,might be re-entering my audiobook era??
i've been missing how productive i was in college when i would listen to audiobooks all the time as i cleaned, so knowing now that i absorb nonfiction best in this format, i gave this one a listen. i'm not the biggest true crime junkie, but i figured that if it reads like a podcast, it might be interesting. and lemme tell ya, i listened to this at 1x speed and enjoyed every second of it! michelle is a great writer and this book was gripping and illuminates the bizarreness of a serial criminal who should've been caught decades ago. i echo everyone else's sadness that she didn't get to see the killer be identified just a few short years after her death.
i would definitely recommend this if anyone needs a fast-paced audio listen that also contains the satisfaction similar to redditors who are able to find out more than law enforcment....more
this book was like a kick to the spleen but it was so short, sweet and well-illustrated that i can't stay mad at itthis book was like a kick to the spleen but it was so short, sweet and well-illustrated that i can't stay mad at it...more
once i get over that this is lesbian porn written by a man, i do think it had a really sweet and funny plot. there's four more volumes and i'm excitedonce i get over that this is lesbian porn written by a man, i do think it had a really sweet and funny plot. there's four more volumes and i'm excited to see where it goes because i liked the characters in this so far. not much else to say other than this is almost exactly what you think it is based on the description haha...more
i get why therapists might review this and rate it low, but as someone who just wanted to be a fly on the wall and absorb this book for what it is (a i get why therapists might review this and rate it low, but as someone who just wanted to be a fly on the wall and absorb this book for what it is (a transcript of client/therapist conversations), i really did enjoy it. i won't be following the advice to a t, but i did think it was very interesting to see how different the culture is in Korea versus America and how the author's insecurities and societal pressures differ from--or are similar to-- mine. it was inspirational to see how i could advocate for myself/my experiences, and i thought the nuance was interesting that depression doesn't always mean being suicidal and it can manifest in other ugly ways. the fact that this was a hard story for this author to tell probably proves why it should exist, especially in its native country/language.
again, maybe i grossly misunderstood this because i'm a sheeple and not a mental health professional but still!!! this book made me emotional at certain points and i liked that it had an uplifting message at the end. on top of it being a short book, it was just an easy time with a title that makes me giggle....more
i can't not give this book five stars because it was SO good but i'm surprised that this ending was so weak? it felt like it needs 100 more pages, andi can't not give this book five stars because it was SO good but i'm surprised that this ending was so weak? it felt like it needs 100 more pages, and everything wrapped up so... as expected. it's very unlike victoria, so i finished it a little confused. i was expecting to be a sobbing mess because this series has been top of mind for me for the past few months as i read them all back to back, but it ended in a place where it's almost like i should expect a fifth book.
i guess that just means i need to dive into the novellas and see what i missed!...more
i really don't have anything negative to say about this which means fuck it, five stars.
i haven't DEVOURED a series this hard since i reread acotar li really don't have anything negative to say about this which means fuck it, five stars.
i haven't DEVOURED a series this hard since i reread acotar last year. these books have really done me in. i love the world. i love mare (even though that's a controversial statement - but as someone who has i-love-meanies syndrome, i'm rooting for her. and she reminds me of nesta). i love knowing that there's still two books full of conflict and drama and nothing is what it seems on the surface. i love the cliffhangers and betrayals.
this is some literature my dude. i immediately dove into book three and put holds for the rest of the books at my library. i'm gonna be sad when it's all over...more
i genuinely think i read a different book than everyone else who's giving this five stars?? because it was shocking how much i dislikeDNF at 120 pages
i genuinely think i read a different book than everyone else who's giving this five stars?? because it was shocking how much i disliked this. as i was debating the pros and cons, the only positive i could think of for this book was that the font size was so big that it went by fast.
i picked this up primarily on the basis that the main character is fat, and fat women in fantasy is SO rare. but every page is full of internalized fatphobia and disgusting descriptions of her body and how gross she perceives herself. on top of that, this main character frequently binge eats to the point of even vomiting, and she felt like more of a caricature and hyperbole of a fat girl than anything else. i was so disappointed and this book made me feel icky about myself in turn.
the magic system in this book is not my cup of tea--the main character was born with a gemstone in her belly button (????) called a godstone. so it revolves around religion and praying to god to help her..... ok.
but most problematically, there's a group of people who are after her for her "powers" that are written as seemingly native, complete with painted skin and rudimentary weapons. in just the one scene where she's attacked by them (view spoiler)[(i've read ahead that she's apparently also later kidnapped by them) (hide spoiler)], she outright calls them savages no fewer than six times, which was so uncomfortable and disappointing to see that racist trope alive and well with no one else talking about it.
i almost stuck it out just to see how this book improves once some real action is added, but this main character had zero personality and clunky dialogue. it was also annoying slogging through so many descriptions of her loathing of her body and eating habits (not to mention the author admitting in interviews she was a size 6 when inspiration hit her for this book).
bottom line, if i wanted to read a book inspired by spanish morocco or narrated by a fat woman, i'll just find one from an own voices author....more
i have foolishly made it an errand to read a bunch of the most popular 2010s YA books that i somehow missed out on, and this one was near the top of ti have foolishly made it an errand to read a bunch of the most popular 2010s YA books that i somehow missed out on, and this one was near the top of the list. wildly popular, but at the time it was getting SO many three star reviews that i decided it probably wasn't worth my time. (and being honest, it came out when i was turning 18 and going to college and i was pretending i was better than reading YA. but anywho.)
i expected this to be interesting, but i didn't anticipate actually really enjoying this!! i always have to give credit when it's due for books that are SO gripping and fast to read that i actually get excited to continue reading whenever i have free time. the world building in this isn't the greatest (literally where's the map?! I NEEDED A MAP VICTORIA), but the society was so simple to understand and it thrusts you immediately into the action.
mare isn't the most interesting main character, but i did find her perceptive and smart. and the times that she wasn't, i actually thought it was pretty realistic. although i enjoyed her characterization, the characters were the factor that brought this book's rating down for me a bit because it was hard to get a grasp on who was friend or foe, not even in a fun way. sometimes the narrator would outright tell the reader in black-and-white terms that this person is good or bad, but they hadn't done anything in the book to prove that to be true, so it felt like the author was feeding us red herrings. and with the amount of betrayals at the end of this book (and the number of times the word "betrayal" was actually used), it was pretty clunky.
i really did like the world and the development of the main character, but this book also had some plot holes around the whole concept of silvers and red bloods. if silvers are the powerful ones who control society, why aren't they smarter? why don't they keep a more watchful eye on reds and the rebellion who are literally right under their noses? and why if mare is an exception to the rules do they not do research on her and her blood? and if the queen has the power to see people's memories, how does she not keep tabs on mare to see that she's working with the rebellion? so many questions arose because it seems like the silvers have the ability to squash the rebels so easily but they were just portrayed quite stupidly.
i realize i'm writing paragraphs and paragraphs about a book that came out almost 10 years ago but i'm actually so surprised, despite my few criticisms, that i liked this so much!! the ending had me actually pacing around my apartment with tears in my eyes and gasping because there were so many unexpected reveals, and it made me emotional. even though this book had its moments of predictability, especially in the first half, i was really surprised that this book wasn't cheesy at all and the plot is a pretty solid foundation for a story. i'm hoping the few holes that i poked in this get solved in the next few volumes. which is high praise, the fact that i just wanted to read this to check a box and yet i'm now so invested i want to read the sequels!!
if you missed out on this one i really think it's worth a shot, especially if you're craving some old-school dystopian with smart characters that'll keep you guessing....more
i was sent this book free from the authors but my opinions are my own!
3.5 stars
any book inspired by the parent trap is an automatic add to my tbr, andi was sent this book free from the authors but my opinions are my own!
3.5 stars
any book inspired by the parent trap is an automatic add to my tbr, and i thought this was an original rendition. two kids with an elusive father who inspired them to become artists meet at a nyc summer camp for art prodigies and they realize they share that father and go on a mission to find him? consider me along for the ride.
other than this book having a fun, realistic, non-cringy writing style to represent teengers, this is my favorite book i've read with biracial representation. you get the unique perspective of both sides: one character who's white passing but a lot more connected to their chinese culture, and the other who looks more chinese but grows up in a white family and community having to grapple with that distance from his culture. a lot of the microaggressions these characters experienced and the growth they had to go through was emotionally tugging, and it showed so much nuance without having to outright explain it to the reader. it was just so clever to me, and i liked being in their heads and understanding their worlds.
some of the reveals in this felt anti-climactic and only skimmed the surface despite the emotional deepdive that other topics take, which felt odd. also, i found the pace slowed down in the second half. but those were really my only two comments about this book. highly recommend if you're looking for a book that revolves around art or coming of age alongside your long-lost sibling....more
this book was very feel-good as well as educational, and i liked following lilah throughout the summer! i thought it was especially neat how you as ththis book was very feel-good as well as educational, and i liked following lilah throughout the summer! i thought it was especially neat how you as the reader only know as much ASL as she does, so all the miscommunications and missed dialogue at the beginning of the book steadily becomes more comprehensible the further you get into the book and the more she learns.
i thought the summer camp feeling to this definitely shone through as well as the other plot points. but being YA it had some pretty predictable emotional angst to it with the relationship. also, at times i wished this author would've just written a non-fiction book about deaf culture rather than packing a bunch of messages into a story, because the middle and end of it somewhat felt like bouncing from plot point to plot point just to make a statement about ableism.
but i still learned a lot and it was packaged up in a fun romance, so i definitely recommend this if you want to read more books about characters who are hard of hearing or just want a summer campy read!...more
i found this book through my library when looking up books about fat main characters and color me surprised to see a new julie murphy book i hadn't hei found this book through my library when looking up books about fat main characters and color me surprised to see a new julie murphy book i hadn't heard of!!
it's not often that i pick up middle grade but i loved the concept of this, and it definitely delivered on some fun and silliness while also packing in an important message. younger me would have definitely loved this book, but i also really appreciated reading it as an an adult and seeing a young girl stand up to fatphobic adults around her. i wish i'd had fat friends growing up who all loved ourselves, instead it was so isolating being fat when growing up.
i will say the vampire themes to this were so overt from even the book cover that the plot and reveals were a bit childish, but this book was the kind of corny that was more endearing than cringy. highly recommend to younger folks but also i would say it does read a bit like healing for us adults :')...more
this book was so sweeeeet. the main character and her friend group felt like a realistic girl friend group, and i loved the setting of this and the cothis book was so sweeeeet. the main character and her friend group felt like a realistic girl friend group, and i loved the setting of this and the coming of age progression of the plot. it always makes me feel a bit warm to read stories of tentative first love between two girls and any positive reception from family members and friends, so i appreciated it for that....more
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