en-US Thu, 03 Jul 2025 06:51:32 -0700 60 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg Review7706251693 Thu, 03 Jul 2025 06:51:32 -0700 /review/show/7706251693 K. gave 4 stars to The Boy Next Door (Paperback) by Jenny Ireland
bookshelves: 2025, audience-young-adult, contemporary, deals-with-mental-illness, difficult-topics, disability-or-medical-condition, diverse-author, library, own-voices, romance, setting-uk
Content warnings: medical emergency, hospitalisation, death of a parent (in the past), grief, discussions of surgery, mental health, disordered eating, shitty parenting, body image issues, mentions of drug use

Okay, first things first: I've never seen a character with vitiligo on the page before. It wasn't mentioned as often as I would have liked, but it's definitely there. This was...less of a romance and more of a contemporary than I was expecting. This isn't a criticism in the slightest. I loved the romance that develops, but I also really enjoyed the way this discusses Molly's hospitalisation and her recovery and the way that the medication she's put onto impacts her life and her image of herself.

I wanted to reach into the book and slap Molly's mother at least a dozen times, and I was thrilled when Finbar confronts his dad about the way his grief is impacting both his children. All in all? Perhaps darker than I was anticipating, but a wonderfully told story that I very much enjoyed. ]]> Review7706222128 Thu, 03 Jul 2025 06:38:17 -0700 /review/show/7706222128 K. gave 4 stars to Hold Me (Cyclone #2) by Courtney Milan
bookshelves: 2025, audience-adult, bipoc-narrator, contemporary, difficult-topics, diverse-author, lgbtqia-narrator, own-voices, romance, own-it-kobo, setting-usa
Content warnings: transphobia, shitty parenting (in the past), death of a sibling (in the past), misogyny

On the one hand, this was sometimes a tough book to read, with Jay's attitude to women in general. On the other hand, this was a joy to read and I loved the relationship that developed between them as the way Maria refuses to stand for his bullshit. ]]> Review7700165685 Tue, 01 Jul 2025 06:48:20 -0700 /review/show/7700165685 K. gave 3 stars to No Escape (Underlined) by Maren Stoffels
bookshelves: 2025, audience-young-adult, difficult-topics, deals-with-mental-illness, horror, library, setting-usa, thriller, translated
Content warnings: violence, blood, suicide, depression, death of a child (in the past), suicidal ideation

I haven't read Escape Room and I suspect that probably impacted my experience with this. It's very short and it's action-packed so there's very little time to get to know the characters. And as a result, I was left......a little perplexed as to what was happening in the story. Don't get me wrong, it's not a BAD book! I just feel like it could have used another 20-50 pages to really give the characters some padding. ]]> Review7700145565 Tue, 01 Jul 2025 06:40:16 -0700 /review/show/7700145565 K. gave 4 stars to Heartwaves: A Greyfin Bay Novel (Kindle Edition) by Anita Kelly
bookshelves: 2025, audience-adult, contemporary, difficult-topics, deals-with-mental-illness, diverse-author, lgbtqia-narrator, kindle-unlimited, own-voices, plus-sized-narrator, romance, setting-usa
Content warnings: death of a friend (in the past), grief, PTSD, homophobia, home invasion (in the past), hate crime, hospitalisation of a parent

God, no one writes heartfelt romances quite like Anita Kelly. This, the story of someone moving to a small town to set up a bookshop and finding their place in the world along the way, was endlessly charming, occasionally painful, and generally delightful. The characters were a joy. The romance that develops is precious. And I had a truly wonderful time with it. ]]> Review7700091061 Tue, 01 Jul 2025 06:23:50 -0700 /review/show/7700091061 K. gave 4 stars to Out Now: Queer We Go Again! (Kindle Edition) by Saundra Mitchell
bookshelves: 2025, audience-young-adult, bipoc-narrator, contemporary, diverse-author, fantasy, lgbtqia-narrator, library, own-voices, paranormal, romance, setting-usa, setting-europe
Content warnings: violence, blood, homophobia, animal death, adult/minor relationship, drug use

3.5 stars

This collection was kind of a mixed bag for me. There were stories I absolutely LOVED - What Happens in the Closet and Star-Crossed In DC, for example - and stories that I was meh about. I don't think it helped that the collection ended with several fantasy stories back to back, given that fantasy isn't my vibe at all. So yeah. Kind of a mixed bag, but mostly in a good way?? ]]> Review7700067300 Tue, 01 Jul 2025 06:13:01 -0700 /review/show/7700067300 K. gave 3 stars to King Cheer (Arden High, #2) by Molly Horton Booth
bookshelves: 2025, audience-young-adult, contemporary, diverse-author, graphic-novel, fantasy, lgbtqia-narrator, library, retellings, setting-usa
Content warnings: bullying, toxic relationship, aphobia, toxic friendship

3.25 stars

I loved the first book in this series and it's so rare that a King Lear retelling appears that I was really excited about this one. But there was something about this that didn't QUITE work for me. I can't work out if it's the sheer number of characters or the fact that the art style sometimes made it difficult to distinguish between the characters, but I struggled to keep track of who was who. Also sometimes it leaned reeeeeeeeeal hard into the King Lear of it all and other times it almost abandoned the retelling altogether and ultimately I feel like I would have liked it more if I knew less about King Lear... ]]> Review7699930898 Tue, 01 Jul 2025 05:18:55 -0700 /review/show/7699930898 K. gave 4 stars to I Hope You're Listening (Kindle Edition) by Tom Ryan
bookshelves: 2025, audience-young-adult, crime, difficult-topics, lgbtqia-narrator, library, setting-north-america, setting-usa, thriller
Content warnings: kidnapping, disappearance of a child, violence, grief, stalking, gun violence, murder, gaslighting

A compelling mystery with a fabulous podcast aspect to the story. I love a book with a podcast aspect and this one was no exception. The story was full of twists and turns. I really liked the characters and the story absolutely kept me guessing throughout. Well worth the read! ]]> Review7699829958 Tue, 01 Jul 2025 04:32:41 -0700 /review/show/7699829958 K. gave 4 stars to The Last Guy On Earth (Hockey Guys, #3) by Sarina Bowen
bookshelves: 2025, audience-adult, contemporary, lgbtqia-narrator, kindle-unlimited, romance, setting-usa
Content warnings: homophobia, addiction, death of a parent (in the past), alcoholism, drug addiction, incarceration, institutionalisation

God, I loved this as a second chance romance. I loved that they were both older characters - late 30s as opposed to the mid-20s that you often get in sports romances - and that both of their lives had a level of complexity outside of their control before you add their relationship to the mix. I do wish there had been slightly more of the sassy small child in the story because I do love a sassy small child in the background of a romance book. But I'll take what I can get. This was charming from start to finish, and the flashbacks were great. ]]> Review7699768889 Tue, 01 Jul 2025 03:59:25 -0700 /review/show/7699768889 K. gave 4 stars to Love and Other Scores (Kindle Edition) by Abra Pressler
bookshelves: 2025, audience-adult, australian, bipoc-narrator, contemporary, difficult-topics, deals-with-poverty, lgbtqia-narrator, library, romance, setting-australia
Content warnings: homophobia, domestic violence (in the past), alcoholism, medical emergency, hospitalisation, home invasion, stalking

I'm genuinely shocked it's taken this long to get a romance between someone who comes to Melbourne for the Australian Open and a nobody living in Melbourne who just so happens to bump into the tennis player. Genuinely shocked.

Anyway. This was cute! I loved the dynamic between Gabi and Noah. I loved seeing South Yarra and Richmond and Carlton and Melbourne portrayed in loving detail. I did feel like there were times when the relationship was a little on the rushed side, but that's not entirely surprising when the Australian Open takes place over two weeks.

I didn't expect the subplot around Noah's past, and it was a TAD darker than I would have liked it to be? But the way the story played out was, ultimately, extremely charming and I'm really glad I gave this a shot (despite my hatred of tennis). ]]> Review7699692091 Tue, 01 Jul 2025 03:08:27 -0700 /review/show/7699692091 K. gave 4 stars to Growing Up Queer in Australia (Paperback) by Benjamin Law
bookshelves: 2025, audience-adult, audience-young-adult, australian, bipoc-narrator, biographies-and-memoirs, deals-with-poverty, deals-with-mental-illness, difficult-topics, disability-or-medical-condition, diverse-author, lgbtqia-narrator, library, jewish-narrator, muslim-narrator, neurodiversity, non-fiction, own-voices, setting-australia
Content warnings: homophobia, homophobic slurs, bullying, sexual assault, cheating, alcohol, drug use, transphobia, racism, self harm, religious bigotry, disordered eating, suicide

3.5 stars

I very much enjoy the Growing Up ___ in Australia series, so I was excited to read this one. However. The majority of the series features a mixture of established and emerging writers. They feature a mixture of ages. They feature a combination of serious and light hearted stories. They're on the dark side at times but still appropriate for a teenage audience.

This, in contrast, I don't know that I would give to teens. The majority of the stories feature at least SOME element of homophobic parents or SERIOUS bullying or sexual assault or a horrifying first time sexual experience. There were some stories that had humorous elements in them, but they were few and far between. And a LOT of the stories seemed to come from Gen X or Millennial authors.

Don't get me wrong, I know a LOT of people in the queer community have these kinds of experiences, I really do. But I'm not convinced that teens - particularly queer teens - need something with this number of traumatic backstories.

So yeah, it's an important collection, particularly where the experiences of queer Australians who grew up in rural areas. But oof. ]]>