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| 1460379837
| 9781460379837
| B00OYBCRT8
| 3.82
| 57
| Apr 01, 2015
| Apr 01, 2015
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it was ok
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His pulse raced. Trace had been hoping she'd let him feel the baby again. He hadn't dared touch her since the night he'd wanted to go on kissing her s
His pulse raced. Trace had been hoping she'd let him feel the baby again. He hadn't dared touch her since the night he'd wanted to go on kissing her senseless. That seemed like a century ago. After she'd left his arms to go to bed, he'd forced himself to put his desire for her in cold storage. pg. 201 Perfectly mediocre book by Rebecca Winters. There's nothing objectionable in it, but neither is it interesting. Trace is a former Air Force pilot who comes back to his Montana ranch. Living on his ranch is Cassie, a pregnant widow. This book is a bit unique in that even though Trace comes back to Montana, he's left a beautiful, spoiled, socialite fiancée behind in Italy. They are engaged and still saying 'I love you' and kissing until about page 132. Now. There's no PHYSICAL cheating here in the book, but people who care about this stuff should know. Trace is having romantic/sexual feelings for a woman who is not his fiancée. If this bothers you, avoid this book. Cheating - sexual, physical, romantic, emotional - doesn't always bother me in fiction and I have a higher tolerance to it than most romance readers IMO depending on the circumstances, situation, characters etc. Winters deserves credit for not making Trace's Italian fiancée a bad person. She may be a pampered socialite, but she loves Trace and they apparently have a lot of good sexual chemistry. She's not evil. Likewise, Cassie's dead husband is not bad, either. Cassie loved him, he was a good man. Kudos to Winters for not falling into the 'every romantic partner but you was a piece of shit,' which is common in romance and lazy, IMO. There's also a (relatively minor) plot about Cassie's psychotic, evil brother Ned. HOW'S THE SEX, CARMEN? There is an off-page sex scene at the very end of the book. So I have no idea. TL;DR Mild book in which a hero who is described as 'depressed' but doesn't act depressed at all and has no symptoms for depression returns home to Montana and falls in love with a pregnant widow with a psycho brother. This sounds a lot more exciting than the book actually is. ROMANCE CATEGORIES Contemporary Romance Cowboy/Western Romance STEM Heroine - Her degree is in Wildlife Conservation; but in this book she is working as a housekeeper. Non-Virgin Heroine Cheating - Non-physical cheating Widow Heroine Pregnant Heroine He's a Rancher, She's a Housekeeper Takes Place in Montana, U.S.A. NAMES IN THIS BOOK (view spoiler)[ Trace m 28 Sam m Ellen f Logan m Cassie f 27 Clive m Liz f Connor m Avery f Jarod m Zane m Buttercup – horse Masala – horse Nicoletta f nn Nicci Prince – horse Reva f Ned m Sadie f Kip – dog Owen m Ralph m Tyson m Benito m Mandy f Cole m Ryan m Charlo m Grant m Paul m Lindsey f Lulu – wolf Annie – wolf Giselle – fox Polly – horse Sunflower – horse Daniel m Silas m Pete m Eileen f Tim m Russ m Millie f Mac m Marsha f Bud m Lamont m 47 Mildred f Rose f Bianca f Dex – dog Dusty – dog Grace f (hide spoiler)] Merged review: His pulse raced. Trace had been hoping she'd let him feel the baby again. He hadn't dared touch her since the night he'd wanted to go on kissing her senseless. That seemed like a century ago. After she'd left his arms to go to bed, he'd forced himself to put his desire for her in cold storage. pg. 201 Perfectly mediocre book by Rebecca Winters. There's nothing objectionable in it, but neither is it interesting. Trace is a former Air Force pilot who comes back to his Montana ranch. Living on his ranch is Cassie, a pregnant widow. This book is a bit unique in that even though Trace comes back to Montana, he's left a beautiful, spoiled, socialite fiancée behind in Italy. They are engaged and still saying 'I love you' and kissing until about page 132. Now. There's no PHYSICAL cheating here in the book, but people who care about this stuff should know. Trace is having romantic/sexual feelings for a woman who is not his fiancée. If this bothers you, avoid this book. Cheating - sexual, physical, romantic, emotional - doesn't always bother me in fiction and I have a higher tolerance to it than most romance readers IMO depending on the circumstances, situation, characters etc. Winters deserves credit for not making Trace's Italian fiancée a bad person. She may be a pampered socialite, but she loves Trace and they apparently have a lot of good sexual chemistry. She's not evil. Likewise, Cassie's dead husband is not bad, either. Cassie loved him, he was a good man. Kudos to Winters for not falling into the 'every romantic partner but you was a piece of shit,' which is common in romance and lazy, IMO. There's also a (relatively minor) plot about Cassie's psychotic, evil brother Ned. HOW'S THE SEX, CARMEN? There is an off-page sex scene at the very end of the book. So I have no idea. TL;DR Mild book in which a hero who is described as 'depressed' but doesn't act depressed at all and has no symptoms for depression returns home to Montana and falls in love with a pregnant widow with a psycho brother. This sounds a lot more exciting than the book actually is. ROMANCE CATEGORIES Contemporary Romance Cowboy/Western Romance STEM Heroine - Her degree is in Wildlife Conservation; but in this book she is working as a housekeeper. Non-Virgin Heroine Cheating - Non-physical cheating Widow Heroine Pregnant Heroine He's a Rancher, She's a Housekeeper Takes Place in Montana, U.S.A. NAMES IN THIS BOOK (view spoiler)[ Trace m 28 Sam m Ellen f Logan m Cassie f 27 Clive m Liz f Connor m Avery f Jarod m Zane m Buttercup – horse Masala – horse Nicoletta f nn Nicci Prince – horse Reva f Ned m Sadie f Kip – dog Owen m Ralph m Tyson m Benito m Mandy f Cole m Ryan m Charlo m Grant m Paul m Lindsey f Lulu – wolf Annie – wolf Giselle – fox Polly – horse Sunflower – horse Daniel m Silas m Pete m Eileen f Tim m Russ m Millie f Mac m Marsha f Bud m Lamont m 47 Mildred f Rose f Bianca f Dex – dog Dusty – dog Grace f (hide spoiler)] ...more |
Notes are private!
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2
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May 04, 2020
not set
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May 11, 2020
not set
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Nov 18, 2023
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Kindle Edition
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| B01GJ0S5M4
| 4.23
| 86,029
| Jun 20, 2016
| Jun 20, 2016
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did not like it
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"My future," Joe said, "is Ox." Ah, god, that made me ache. "Is that so?" Mom asked. "How do you figure?" "He's really nice," Joe said seriously. "And sm "My future," Joe said, "is Ox." Ah, god, that made me ache. "Is that so?" Mom asked. "How do you figure?" "He's really nice," Joe said seriously. "And smells good. And he makes me happy. And I want to do nothing more than put my mouth on him." 28% Ok, this is not going to be a positive review. I understand this is a beloved book. Many, many people love this book. I picked it up expecting it to be good. I pick up every book with an open mind and hopeful expectations. I was not prepared. This is mainly suffering from being a y/n fanfiction-y type story. If you are unfamiliar, this is a fiction that used to exist... Still exists?... in which the reader inserts their name (y/n your name) into the story and therefore can use the story to fantasize about something happening to them. Always revolving around romance/sex. Very popular with pre-teens and early teens. It's not... this is not a fan-fiction OF SOMETHING (although Klune does lampshade Twilight A LOT in this book) but rather a self-insertion fantasy about m/m werewolf romance/sex. Is TJ Klune a talented author? I've only read this book by him. I hear he is very successful now. I mean, in the mainstream. If you are talking about my opinion after I read this book, then it's complicated. His weaknesses are tending to go on and on and on, leaving the reader bored. I was bored. The book was on my Kindle but was 485 "pages." And you could tell. A lot of authors, especially indie authors of romance, favor long books. (See also: Laurann Dohner.) This can be fun when you are feeling it, but tedious when you are bored by the material. I was bored by the material. His other weaknesses include melodramatic writing. Everything is SO dramatic. Everything is SO... written by a teenager. Not that Klune is writing at a teenage level, he is not. But his material is written with teenage levels of drama and teenage ideas of "what is cool." I think the book was supposed to be quite serious. Other reviews talk about how much the characters "suffer." But I was laughing hard through the entire book. Need an example? Feast on this: "You're SEVENTEEN - " He was snarling now, and I knew if I looked up at him, his wolf would be fighting through. "So? You think I don't know what I'm doing? You think that because I'm ONLY SEVENTEEN I don't know what I'm talking about? I haven't been a kid for a very long time, Ox. That was taken away from me the first time he made me scream into the phone so my mom could hear it as he broke my fingers. I haven't been a kid since he RIPPED it from me and made me into something else. I know what this is. I know what I'm doing. Yes, I'm SEVENTEEN years old, but I knew the day I met you that I would do ANYTHING for you. I would do ANYTHING to make you happy because no one has ever smelled like you did. It was candy canes and pinecones. It was epic and awesome. And it was HOME. You smelled like my HOME, Ox. I'd forgotten what that was like, okay? I'd forgotten that because HE took it away from me and I couldn't find it again until I found you. So don't you sit there and say I'm ONLY seventeen. My father gave Mom his wolf when HE was seventeen. It's not a matter of AGE, Ox. It's when you know." My voice was hoarse when I said, "But I'm not - " "Shut up!" he cried. "You know what? No. You don't get to decide what you're worth because you obviously don't know. You don't get to decide that anymore because you have no fucking idea that you're worth EVERYTHING. What do you think this is? A joke? A decision I made just for the hell of it? It's not. It's not destiny, Ox. You're not BOUND by this. Not yet. There's a choice. There is ALWAYS a choice. My wolf chose you. I chose you. And if you don't choose me, then that's YOUR choice and I will walk out of here knowing you got to choose your own path. But I swear to god, if you choose me, I will make sure that you know the weight of your worth every day for the rest of our lives because that's what this is. I am going to be a fucking ALPHA one day, and there is no one I'd rather have by my side than you. It's you, Ox. For me, it's always been you." 29% The whole book is like that. If you think that excerpt is cringe-y, avoid this book. If you think this is THE PEAK OF ROMANCE, then boy howdy, do I have a book for you!!! I would compare this book to Fifty Shades of Grey and Twilight. Not because it's BDSMy, it's not, and not because it's written for teenagers, it's not YA. But the writing style is similar. AGE GAP, FATED-TO-BE-MATED I just want you to know that Joe pledges himself to Ox when he is ten years old. I found this to be creepy. NOTHING SEXUAL happens between them until Joe is 17 and Ox is 23, and they don't actually have intercourse until Joe is 20 and Ox is 26, but still. The idea of a child picking/knowing his future "mate," and his whole family (his parents and all his brothers) knowing that Ox and Joe are going to fuck from the time when Joe is 10 was skeeving me out. It skeeved me out. I don't like fated-to-be-mated anyway, even if the characters meet as adults. I like to see two people falling in love, not two people "destined" to be together. But there's an extra ick factor when it starts so young. Fated-to-be-mated is very popular in paranormal romance, werewolf or otherwise. People get kidnapped and tortured, kidnapped and tortured. It was concerning the first time, but by the third time I was like, "Just get on with it!" The MC also has daddy issues which seem immense. His dad said some shitty stuff to him and left when he was 12, and this is discussed over and over and over x30,000. I get it, your father was not a good guy. But considering you then discovered a perfect, superpowered "found family" complete with a built in perfect "mate," I don't really buy all the whining. The problem with Klune's writing style that it's hard for me to take it seriously. Even though Klune is often times trying very hard to be serious. It's just so cringe-y. GREYSCALE It's hard for me to describe but I was picturing this book in my head as a black-and-white feature. It's very greyscale. It's a greyscale book. It presents itself in black, white, and grey. Not sure if this is due to the setting (which I think is Pacific NW), but it definitely is due to the way Klune writes. This isn't a complaint - I think writing in a way that makes your readers picture a world in which color doesn't exist... well, color exists, but the readers can't see it... is quite interesting and skillful. HOW'S THE SEX, CARMEN? There is explicit, described on-page m/m sex in this book. If you LOVE that, this is a good fit for you (although the characters take quite a long time to get there). M/m sex doesn't do anything for me personally, so I can't really rate it. The MC (Ox) is NOT gay. He's NOT gay, he is bisexual, and it was great to see bisexual representation. I am seeing more and more bisexual representation in books nowadays, they were much slower to get it than just lesbians, gay men, and trangender individuals. So I think that's nice. I have been noticing an uptick lately. "Fucking retard," Clint sneered at me the second day of school. Because that was his thing. I ignored him, as I always did, shoving books into my locker. It was easier. Apparently not for Carter, though. He grabbed Clint by the back of the head and threw him against the row of lockers, pressing his face against the cold metal. "You talk like that to him again and I'll rip your fucking heart out," he hissed. "Tell everyone that Ox is under Bennett protection and if anyone so much as LOOKS at him funny, I'll break their arms. Don't fuck with Ox." 9% "But I would be a Beta." "Yes. One of mine. Eventually, one of Joe's." "Why aren't Carter or Kelly going to be the next Alpha?" He said, "They weren't born to be. Joe was. He will be an Alpha." I didn't want to offend him, but I couldn't stop the words. "I would have something you wouldn't. If I turned." "Oh? And what would that be?" I touched the tree again. "I would remember what it was like to be human." 18% This sounds EXACTLY like what a nine-year-old would come up with to choke up readers. I can see them reading it aloud to their parents and choking up at what they've written while reading it. "I want your blood on my tongue. I want to break you open and crawl inside of you. I am a monster because of the things I could do to you that you wouldn't be able to stop me from doing." 32% This is what Joe says to Ox. To illustrate how... fucked-up he is, I guess? Or something? "Ox. Ox. You can't argue with me. Not on this. I am a BEAST. I was made to be this way by the might and folly of men and I stopped denying what I am a long time ago. I will take what is rightfully mine and all will be well." 37% This is how the villain talks. *rolls eyes* I said, "Your first mistake was underestimating me. My pack. I may be human, but I run with wolves." 59% This is how Ox "intimidates" the villains by showing he is so badass! LOL LOL LOL I almost died laughing at this part. I mean, come on. Tl;dr Read if you like: - Fated to be mated. - Explicit m/m sex scenes - Melodramatic writing - Books with a greyscale feel - Found Family Avoid if you struggle with: - A ten-year-old choosing his mate. Everyone knows about it (except the mate). It's creepy and weird, even if you wave your hands and say, "Werewolves!" - Lame ideas of "being badass" and "being cool" and "OMG I'm broken from the suffering in my past!!!!" - Melodramatic writing that will have you in tears... of laughter. - Fated-to-be-Mated - Special Chosen One MC NAMES IN THIS BOOK (view spoiler)[ Ox Oxnard m Curtis m Gordo m Jeremy m Clint m Jenny f Maggie f Mark m Rico m Tanner m Chris m Joseph Joe m Carter m Kelly m Elizabeth f Thomas m Jessie f Cassie f Felicia f Abel m Henry m Tyler m Dex m Eric m Nick m Marie f Osmond m Frankie m Richard m Robbie m Michelle f Beatrice f David m Megan f Adam m Gerald m William m Judith f (hide spoiler)] ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Oct 03, 2023
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Oct 15, 2023
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Oct 03, 2023
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Kindle Edition
| ||||||||||||||||
| 0063210274
| 9780063210271
| 0063210274
| 3.63
| 7,200
| May 10, 2022
| May 10, 2022
|
liked it
|
"I like your parents. They're nice." He raises an eyebrow. "Is that your request to trade?" I smile but shake my head. "No. I mean, I love my parents, e "I like your parents. They're nice." He raises an eyebrow. "Is that your request to trade?" I smile but shake my head. "No. I mean, I love my parents, even if - " "Even if they can't love you," he says. But it doesn't sound like an accusation or even a question. It sounds like resignation and familiarity, like somehow, despite being from totally different worlds, he understands exactly what I mean. "My parents love me," I say, my voice finally agreeing with me. And Theo nods, but his eyes look kind of far away. "Conditionally, though, right? Like as long as you keep doing what they ask, they love you." 35% The most surprising thing to me when I opened this book was that it was about assholes. As in, every character in this book is an asshole. I can't really think of any exceptions. I was surprised because this book was so widely labeled "cute," "very cute" and "so cute!" So I was baffled to see it populated by pretty much shitty people. I mean, not murderers nor rapists nor sociopaths, but you know... jerks. That's okay, I understand a lot of people in the LGBTQIA+ arena are tired of writing about 'good' and 'perfect' LGBTQIA+ characters. They want to write flawed protagonists. Fine. But personally, as a reader, I prefer kind folk. I understand that this is preference, but I just want to warn readers in case they think this is like Heartstopper: Volume One or something. It's not. OK, moving on. BASIC PLOT: Theo's parents run an Asian café. It sells stuff like bao, milk tea, boba, etc. His mom is Chinese and his dad is Japanese. He is gay. Openly gay. Everyone from his parents to the kids at school know he's gay. He's 16. He has an older brother at college and he thinks his parents favor this brother. He doesn't have a college fund, he has an ADHD diagnosis, and he's very good at soccer - which his parents don't care about at all. Theo is the biggest asshole in the book and also someone who is consumed with bitterness, rage, and self-hatred. He hates himself and he hates other people. He lashes himself and he lashes out at other people. It's often ugly. He has low self-esteem. It really was absurd of me to think that the one thing standing in the way of me and a successful future was the lack of a college fund. My grades suck, and I suck, and even if I got as far away from Vermont as possible, it wouldn't be enough to fix all the broken parts of me that make me ruin everything I touch. 73% His parents' café is technically owned by Uncle Greg, his mom's brother who treats her like shit, for both marrying a non-Chinese and having a gay son. He "pays" Theo's parents by letting them live above the store. Big shades of Front Desk, if you've read that. Theo has been stealing his parents tips for years (like I said, asshole) but suddenly thinks he needs to help his parents make more money to appease Uncle Greg so he starts an underground food delivery service. Gabi's parents own a Puerto Rican café. They hate the Moris, the owners of the Asian café. The Moris hate them back. Each set of parents says horrible things about the other set... because they're assholes. Gabi's father is a huge homophobe and gay-hater. Gabi's gay but is obviously unable to come out. He loves dance but his father forbid him to take it. He takes secret ballet classes at the school. He's terrified of being outed. He is on the soccer team even though he hates it and is terrible at it in order to maintain his straight façade. He's shocked to find out his parents are thinking of selling the café. He loves the café and wanted to inherit it and run it. He needs to find a way to generate extra income and prove to his parents that they should keep the place open. He finds out Theo is illicitly selling food on campus. You know where this is going. Etc. etc. etc. there are lots of side plots too, but that his the main gist of it. .... So. Where to start. Is this a romance? Well, it's a romance in that Theo and Gabi are going to end up dating/involved because it's an enemies-to-lovers trope. It says as much in the book description, I don't consider this a spoiler. The boys DO have passion together and you DO feel like they could be attracted to each other. It wasn't like Ride with Me where I was seriously questioning the couple getting together. But if you are looking for any kind of sexual content, it's not here. I think Theo licks Gabi's arm at one point? Other than that, pretty much nothing. They dance together. Don't expect any sex... I don't even remember any kissing, although I could be wrong. It's possible they kissed and I just forgot about it. I'm not interested in m/m sex, it just doesn't grab me at all, but I wanted to put this in the review in case anyone was looking for steam. This isn't a book that is going to describe physical encounters. Look elsewhere for sex scenes. This book will not satisfy you if that is what you are seeking. What else is it besides a romance? A lot of things. Mainly focusing on parents. Both Gabi and Theo have huge, huge issues with their parents and a lot of the book is about struggling against your parents' expectations. Sure, Theo's parents accept he is gay. I think Lee probably did this because having two sets of parents being dead-set against a gay son would be too repetitive. E had to make one set of parents accepting. It was a stretch. His Chinese and Japanese parents seem pretty traditional, but I will go along with it to avoid a boring plotline. But even though Theo's parents accept him as gay, there are a lot of things they reject him for. He feels like the reject son, the unloved one, the disappointment of the family. His grades are bad, he has ADHD, his parents didn't bother setting up a college fund for him, and they nag him and expect him to be obedient and polite. They don't care about his opinions on things, it's their way y punto. Then we have Gabi, whose father isn't just quietly anti-gay, he's very vocally anti-gay, gay-bashing (not physically), spewing hatred and making everyone in the family adhere to strict gender roles they can't step out of. His requirements for straight men are quite frankly ridiculous. They include not talking much, never showing sad emotions, not hanging out with girls etc. etc. "Besides," my dad says, and for one blissful second, I'm relieved that he isn't forcing me to speak, until he says, "It's good you're hanging out with a boy for once. We don't want people getting the wrong impression." My mom nods, but there's fury building in my chest, and before I can stop myself, I'm saying, "Wrong impression about what?" "Ay, relax, Gabi," my mom says, "We're just saying that when you spend all your time talking to girls, people start to think things." "Who cares what they think?" I say. "Why does it matter?" I don't know why my voice sounds so angry. Usually, I'm good at keeping quiet whenever my parents say ignorant stuff, but something about the way they're speaking really has my blood boiling. Finally, my dad sighs and says, "I just think you've worked really hard to build your reputation. You have good grades, you're on the Homecoming Committee, you play soccer - If people get the wrong idea about you - " "What idea?" I say. "That I hang out with girls? That's a bad thing?" "Ay, cariño, we just don't want people thinking you're gay, okay?" my mom says, and my blood runs cold. 62% Needless to say Gabi is a ball of anxiety because he IS gay, and he's living with a person who hates gay people. His mom doesn't talk much but it's implied she just follows her husband's lead and wouldn't ever stand against him. Not a safe or fun environment for poor Gabi. I really think this is the main crux of the book - my opening quote. How to get along with your parents until you can move out ASAP when you graduate HS. Even though Theo and Gabi start out on the wrong foot, they really have a lot in common. I think even for non-queer readers, this "vs. the parents" plotline will really resonate. There are a LOT of ways your parents can let you down, make you feel worthless, make you feel like a disappointment (besides being queer) and I think this is a great uniting point for the book and readers of the book. Most people know what it's like to butt heads with their parents, even if it maybe isn't to the extreme of Gabi's situation. Many, many children (grown, young, whatever) feel that their parents' love in conditional. Often with good reason. When I was a kid, my parents were everything - my heroes, my role models. But now they're just the people keeping my prison doors locked. Or maybe they're both, and that's what makes things so hard. 54% You do get emotionally invested in the kids vs. parents arc. There are many side plots involving Gabi and Theo's asshole friends doing asshole stuff and generally being assholes, but none are important enough to mention here. TL;DR Read if: - You don't mind books where everyone is an asshole. - You like YA romances (this is m/m) but don't need sex scenes or any sexual content. - You like food-centric plots. Good book to read while drinking a milk tea. - You feel passionate about young people fighting against the confines their parents create for them. You enjoy books about teenagers on a journey of standing up for themselves against their mean parents who 'just don't get it.' - You like happy endings. The book is sealed with a picture perfect, shining, happy, every-single-thing-is-resolved-now ending. VERY UNREALISTIC, but I understand Lee wanting to create a book where things can resolve beautifully. So fine. (view spoiler)[Even the rabid gay-hater repents, apologizes to his gay son, vows to do better... RIDICULOUS, especially since he is a dyed-in-the-wool bigot with generations of bigotry and not to mention a very vocal and aggressive bigot. Total 180 in 48 hours. RIDICULOUS. (hide spoiler)] But everything, every single plot is tied up with a pretty bow. How can I ever feel comfortable being me when I'm the thing my parents hate the most? 31% CONTENT - No drinking, smoking, nor drugs that I remember. - No sex. Theo DOES have a friend who is in a sexually active relationship with a girl his age, whom his friend talks about "getting laid" with, but nothing is shown or described and the MCs certainly aren't having sex. - But tons of bad language and bad attitude (as you can imagine in a world populated solely by jerks). Theo is particularly rough. Callous talk about selling nudes (not that he does so), callous talk about his brother leaving home to "fuck white girls," etc. etc. He's not the only one, almost all characters say pretty offensive things in here. Like I said, not a lot of kindness to be found. Everyone is kind of harsh and angry. Wasn't sure exactly how to rate this. IMO the writing is a 4/5 but the plot is only a 3/5. NAMES IN THIS BOOK: (view spoiler)[ Gabriel m Gabi Theo m Justin m Thomas m Melissa f Meli Vivi f Jeff m Lady f Pedro m Greg m Masao m June f Clara f Heather f Joey m Lilly f Kris m Mark m Juniper f (hide spoiler)] ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Oct 2023
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Oct 02, 2023
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Oct 01, 2023
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Hardcover
| ||||||||||||||
| 0358468310
| 9780358468318
| 0358468310
| 3.53
| 1,275
| Jun 28, 2022
| Jun 28, 2022
|
liked it
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"Whatever. Like I said, I knew you wouldn't understand." "Why do you keep SAYING that?" I ask as I take a left on Michaela's street. "Because obviously "Whatever. Like I said, I knew you wouldn't understand." "Why do you keep SAYING that?" I ask as I take a left on Michaela's street. "Because obviously you've never been in love!" she exclaims. "You're like, eternally single, no commitments to speak of." "I have a LOT of commitments," I say defensively. "It's just that none of them revolve around dating." "And what, that makes you special? Because you'd rather be alone?" pg. 21 This book is slated as a romance, but that's not how I would categorize it. "What is your problem?" Andre says, getting closer, his eyes wide in exasperation. "Guys like you," I say. "Who only care about getting drunk, and having a good time, when some of us actually want more for ourselves. But why would you worry about that?" pg. 64 Charlie can't wait to get out of the small town she grew up in: Chester Falls, MA. She's working as a driver on an app (called Backseat here, but it's like Uber) and saving every penny. She's a junior, and has dreams of going to Cornell and becoming an architect. She has two best friends who feel a bit neglected as they are left behind all the time while she works, almost non-stop. She has two parents who are not acting as fully-functional adults. Honestly, I thought both of them were suffering from some degree of depression. They hold down jobs, but they can't seem to do basic things like pay bills, pay debts, or do household repairs. This annoys Charlie to no end, as does their crumbling relationship that they refuse to address. One night at a party, Charlie is hired by a drunk guy to give him a ride home. In her haste to hand him a bucket so he doesn't vomit in her car, she rams into Andre's car. Andre is a "hot" lacrosse player known for being a partier and someone who supplies parties with copious amounts of alcohol. She begs him not to report her infraction to Backseat - she already has one driving violation, and if she gets two, she will be unable to continue working for the app. He agrees - on one condition. She drive him everywhere until his car gets repaired. ... This isn't so much a love story as a story of two very different people becoming friends and developing a close friendship. It's also a story that's very focused on belonging, what home means, what community means, what ambition brings you. Etc. Etc. Also, I am an adult reading a YA book. This is probably my first mistake. I can't relate to YA much anymore, I'm too old. I know tons of people who are adults read YA, but for me, I can't get into it (95% of the time - there's always exceptions for excellent work. Check out my YA shelf if you want examples). I can't relate to agonizing over kissing a guy for the first time, going to prom, if your parents are going to let you go to the big party, etc. etc. etc. Not only can I not relate, but it usually bores and frustrates me unless the book has something special about it. This is pretty placid. It fails as a romance, because I did not see any romantic or sexual attraction between the two leads. There was just nothing. The story is more about them opening each others worlds a bit and becoming great friends. No sexual or romantic attraction at all, when the author FINALLY had them kiss it was leaving me cold. I wasn't buying it. Even if I thought they were "into each other," IMO they would be a terrible couple. These two are just not compatible. They would be fine as friends but IMO would make a nightmare of a romantic relationship. They do not fit each other. Thirdly, Charlie is kind of anti-dating and anti-romance. I wasn't sure why or what the author was getting at. It's not just that she's never dated nor had a boyfriend. She's just not interested in dating or having a boyfriend. She's awkward, very determinedly barreling into her future away from Chester Falls, and immature when it comes to dealing with relationship issues (even minor ones). She's not asexual nor aromantic (at least, according to the author) so I don't exactly know what was going on. She's just not into it. She doesn't gush about boys, she never fantasizes about dating/sex/marriage, she doesn't have crushes. Her main focus is getting out of Chester Falls and into Cornell. The book is pretty low stakes. There's nothing here to really sink your teeth into nor get passionate about. My most pressing concern during the book was addressing her parents' depression. They seriously needed to get help and even though Charlie confronts them about it many times, they always brush it under the rug and say, "We're the parents, let us parent." Even though they are not fucking parenting at all. I do my best to smile. "I'm here to buy a manual on toilets." "What do you need that for?" he asks. Good question, I think, why am I, a seventeen-year-old girl, buying a manual on toilets, when I live with two adult humans who could do this themselves? Instead, I shrug. "Got a broken toilet." pg. 135 "Thanks, Dad, but I need to do this on my own." "Why?" my dad asks, and I don't know how to tell him that I'm not sure I can really trust him to help. And I can't have him let me down right now. pg. 180 Keating is a competent writer. Nothing is bad about the writing. Charlie's rather wry observations of human nature can be amusing. Grant Chase is the captain of the Chester Falls High hockey team. He's also a supreme dickhead, in my personal opinion. At school he can be found cracking jokes in class to undermine the teacher's assignments, at parties he enjoys smashing beer cans into his skull, and his on-ice persona seems to be with a bloody nose and tooth-chipped grin while some guy lies flat out next to the goal. It's like he's watched every bad eighties movie possible on how to be a douche and makes sure to brush up on the weekends. pg. 21 Or what about this one: I imagine the inside of his brain, a hollowed-out space filled with cobwebs and internet porn. pg. 95 There's both alcohol and drug use (in a book featuring mainly 17-year-olds). It's casual and nothing ever comes of it. Drugs and alcohol are casual, normal, and easy. Maybe too easy, there's a scene in here (not intended to be funny, I'm sure) in which a bartender serves Charlie alcohol basically because she asks nicely and says her friend is having a bad week. As an adult reading this I'm incredulous. Most people want to keep their job and bartenders are not going to be blissfully handing alcohol to high schoolers. Drinking at a house party is one thing, this scene with the bartender I found TOTALLY RIDICULOUS. If you are reading this for content warnings, there is casual, easy drug and alcohol use but no sex or sexual content at all. Charlie and Andre drink, but never drink and drive and they never do drugs, either, although its mentioned that other people at the parties are using. TL;DR Keating is calling this a romance, because that's what sells, but this didn't seem like a romance at all to me. No spark between the characters, and they would be a horrible couple anyway. But they do become close friends and open each others worlds a bit. It's more a YA that focuses on knowing yourself, planning for the future, appreciating what you have, and maturing into a more adult person. It was fine. Keating's writing is fine, but the book is so low-stakes and I couldn't get worked up over anything. It's tepid. NAMES IN THIS BOOK: (view spoiler)[ Maddie f Charlie f Charlotte Sydney f Reggie m 14 Tucker m Tessa f Marcus m Andre m Michaela f Grant m Mia f Ava f Theo f lesbian Roger m Kit Sam f lesbian Sol m Marielle f Elaine f Vince m Eleanor f Nicole f Daniel m Chris m Nick m Carter m Helen f Hank m Lulu f Emily f Sally – alpaca Corey m 18 Lindy f Susan f Bruce m Georgia f Alfred m Nathan – tadpole Mateo m Emma f Sarah f Dennis m Annabelle f Jess f Janice f Stephen m Bill m Dick m Shara f Ashley f Gus m Matilda f Carl m Cindi f Jasper m Isaac m Ty m Devon m Ben m Davis m Angela f Jeremy m (hide spoiler)] ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Sep 28, 2023
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Oct 2023
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Sep 28, 2023
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Hardcover
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| 1944565558
| 9781944565558
| B09Z8L23NL
| 4.35
| 22,907
| Jun 16, 2022
| Jun 16, 2022
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did not like it
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My voice is weak when I offer, "I was a willing participant." "It doesn't matter," he thunders back, his eyes haunted. "This was inappropriate. I shoul My voice is weak when I offer, "I was a willing participant." "It doesn't matter," he thunders back, his eyes haunted. "This was inappropriate. I should have known better." The chastising tone of his words pierce through any shred of dignity I had left. I feel dirty and ashamed as he looks at me like I'm the worst mistake of his life. Is hooking up with me really such an appalling concept to him? I realize he can get girls ten times hotter than me, but to act like I'm some kind of disgusting mistake is a degradation I can't stomach. "You need to go," I state through clenched teeth, willing my voice not to shake from the rejection blanketing over top of me. Max turns around, looking guilty, which only makes this situation ten times worse. "Cassandra, I'm so sorry." 27% So, I will no longer be buying Daws's books. Not because I'm angry or upset or anything, but I've read two of her books and it's always the same case (for me). The story is going fine. The characters are fine. I'm enjoying myself for the most part. Then the sex scenes hit. It's just going to be a difference of opinion with me and Daws - we just don't find the same things sexy. I do not find her sex scenes sexy. As soon as the hero starts getting into it with the heroine, I'm turned off by him and usually angry with him. They always seem like okay guys until the sex starts. Max is parenting his 11-year-old daughter, Everly. He needs a nanny since he works a lot. My eleven going on twenty-year-old looks up at my with her lethal robin-blue eyes that make me doubt my manhood every single day. 1% I'm kind of baffled by this sentence, honestly. Anyway. Cassandra wears tie-dye and fakes a British accent and asks to go by the name "Cozy." Her resume is sparse and everything about her drives the rather uptight and business-y Max up a wall. She calls Max "Big Daddy" in her job interview with him. His (correct, IMO) reaction is a kind of "WTF is going on here?" but the kid loves "Cozy." So she's hired. He's a millionaire, she's his nanny. He's uptight, she's "fun." He's 34, she's 26. Blah blah blah trope city. If you are looking for a nanny/rich man romance, you can do better than this IMO. HOW'S THE SEX, CARMEN? Not my thing. The reason I am not reading any more Amy Daws. We are going to have to agree to disagree about what makes a good sex scene. TL;DR Not my thing, but it's not like there's no substance to Daws's novels. She's not my cup of tea, but might work out perfectly for someone else. I've read romances that were total trash (I define this by zero effort, paint-by-numbers, author not even trying), this isn't trash (by my definition) because Daws obviously puts work into it, but I can't with the sexual dynamics here. Like her calling him "Zaddy" all the time and him getting hard when she calls him "boss" and him ordering her to cum and etc. YMMV There's NO POINT in me reading a romance book if I can't stomach the sex. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Sep 24, 2023
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Sep 24, 2023
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Sep 24, 2023
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Kindle Edition
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| 1944565132
| 9781944565138
| B07BM7CSQV
| 4.07
| 29,088
| Mar 20, 2018
| Mar 20, 2018
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did not like it
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"But you're hooking up with a guy who still doesn't know your real name. How do you think that's going to end, Kate?" 58% Dean's got a point. So this bo "But you're hooking up with a guy who still doesn't know your real name. How do you think that's going to end, Kate?" 58% Dean's got a point. So this book was OK. It wasn't terrible - there's a lot of bad, unreadable romance/erotica out there - but it wasn't good. I was kind of enjoying it a little, but once the MCs starting having sex it was a big NO from me. So the book and I didn't work out. Kate Smith is a writer of erotica she self-publishes on Kindle. (This book is a huge author insertion, one of my pet peeves.) She needs to find a place where her creativity flows, and that turns out to be in the Customer Care Center at her local tire place. She goes there every day for hours and hours, downing coffee and eating cookies. She meets a mechanic who works there, a man who is "super-hot" and "super-masculine." His name is Miles. She lies to him and tells him her pen name, Mercedes. And when she finally brings him home, she doesn't tell him she still lives with her asshole ex, she tells him she has a gay male roommate. So. My MAIN ISSUES: 1.) Author self-insertion. I don't enjoy it, even the greats do it - Stephen King has certainly done it. I find it lazy and common. 2.) I found Kate to be self-involved. I mean, she was sweet, if a bit dim. Everything is about how masculine Miles is. Everything he does is manly, every single part of him is manly, this is discussed ad nauseum. And she's obsessed with his chiseled body, which she goes on and on about constantly. I don't know, she just seemed a bit shallow. Lying, copping all the free stuff at this tire place - this was played as cute and if this was the only thing I would totally be able to dismiss it as quirky and cute, this wasn't an issue until compounded with other things - doesn't come clean to Miles even after they are fucking. Even after Day One when they just meet as friends. There are 9,000 opportunities to come clean with him and she never takes them. Of course, she's eventually forced to tell the truth in a huge drama showdown that forces her hand and is ugly. 3.) Miles has a lot of red flags. Mainly jealousy. "You are a walking, fucking tease, you know that?" pg. 17% This is what he says to her the first time they go out to a meal together. *Buzzer noise* Nope. Big red flag. I wouldn't allow this man to talk to me like this much less allow him to see me again. Tells her he's a jealous guy. Always talking about how jealous and possessive he is. Refers to her at one point as "his property." *Buzzer noise* NOPE. Just get out now. Really, really bad sign. It's 2018. This isn't 'hot' - especially since they are not roleplaying or anything - he's serious. And it's a SERIOUS red flag. The first time they have sex, she sees the size of his penis and is kind of nervous about taking it. Fine, whatever, this is pretty standard for modern romance/erotica. But when she worries about it hurting, he Miles teases his covered tip against my slit. "But what if I like it to hurt a little?" In one fast push, he slams into me so fast I can't catch my breath for a moment. 44% I was horrified. Ugh. Horrified. But I guess Daws is having me believe she likes this shit. There's a LOT of scenes in this book where I was looking on in horror, only to have the heroine wax poetic about how manly the hero is when he does some red-flag shit. Like when he exhibits a temper and SHE THINKS IT'S HOT. Oh man. Guys with a temper ARE NOT HOT, they are fucking dangerous. "But I have to say there's something seriously hot about seeing you in a mood... I hope that works to our advantage later." 72% I just wanted to shake her and tell her to run for the majority of the book. Now, at the end, Daws kind of brings up some interesting points when (view spoiler)[Miles finds Kate at a bar with her ex and he punches her ex in the face for calling Kate a c-word. (hide spoiler)] Then he says, "I've never punched another guy in my life, and I just fucking broke that dick's nose." 83% That's interesting. That's interesting. I definitely thought he would have had some punching in his resume since he goes on and on all the time about being jealous and possessive and I know he had a fucked-up ex-girlfriend who would wind him up. If Daws had explored this a little more... kind of explored something like "all bark, no bite" or kind of laid it on with his confused emotions and how he struggles with this uber-masculine image he's supposed to present all the time... that would be interesting. BUT NO, don't get excited. She doesn't explore this avenue at all. And then when Kate confronts him at the end of the book, kind of talking about all his talk made her a bit nervous, "You were going on and on about being jealous." His lips form a thin line, a look of disappointment clouding his features. "I shouldn't have scared you with all that. I put way too much pressure on you with talk of my past. I'm a protective guy, Kate, but I hope you know I trust you." 93%. ...That's not really shown at all in the book. Daws doesn't really showcase this about him. He really seemed kind of unhinged. Now, she's like, "Oh, well, he's not really that bad! Blah blah blah." Kind of trying to roll it back. Didn't really show that in the actual text, where he was pretty much spelling out, ABUSER. 5.) I don't like it when a group of girlfriends refer to each other as slut, bitch, and whore. It makes me sad. It's not funny to me. 6.) Kate faints. FAINTS. I mean... come on. 7.) Here's something I liked: The hero quit smoking three months ago. I rarely see that addressed. That was something new and interesting to me in a romance. HOW'S THE SEX, CARMEN? Ugh, not my thing. TL;DR Trying to be cute. Might have succeeded if she had pulled back on some of the more alarming stuff. But as it stands, the heroine comes off as sweet, but self-involved, dim, and shallow. The hero comes off as someone who has some warning flags as to being a potential abuser. Shown as "hot." To me, no. I was telling Kate to run away. Daws either could have pulled back on the shallowness of the woman or the psychoness of the man, OR she could have done some more deep dive, psychological exploring of them. Either one. The first would have produced a 'cute' book. The second would have produced an 'interesting, thought-provoking romance.' But of course, neither happened. As a result, I didn't really like either MC. The writing isn't atrocious, and this isn't one of those Kindle books with tons of grammatical errors. If it sounds like your jam, go for it. But it wasn't for me. NAMES IN THIS BOOK (view spoiler)[ Kate f Mercedes Lee Betty f Misty – dog Miles m 6'4” Lynsey f Dryston m her ex Dean m Hannah f Sam m Jocelyn f Joce Megan f Meg Jeremiah m Mitchell m (hide spoiler)] ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Jul 06, 2023
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Jul 07, 2023
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Jul 06, 2023
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Kindle Edition
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| 1542034434
| 9781542034432
| B09SYTCHNX
| 3.85
| 1,270
| unknown
| Nov 01, 2022
|
liked it
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To the world, Patricio Galán might be cocky, confident, and commanding. To her, the real Patricio was all that and so much more: compassionate, though
To the world, Patricio Galán might be cocky, confident, and commanding. To her, the real Patricio was all that and so much more: compassionate, thoughtful, wickedly funny, and most important, supportive of her. But he was still a mariachi. And while the more time she spent with Patricio, the more she longed - ay, to the marrow of her bones, how she longed - to cast aside her long-head conviction to not relive her birth mother's mistakes, she was too afraid he might... what if she wound up... No, she couldn't do it. 84% Sequel to West Side Love Story. This is about Mariana's younger sister, Catalina. Based on the last book, I thought she would be paired with Marco. But instead this is her love story with Patricio. Cat is a mariachi and part of the group that (view spoiler)[won the mariachi competition last book - Mariachi Las Nubes. (hide spoiler)] She's a singer and a songwriter and the judge of the competition offers her a sweet deal working with him, performing with him, and songwriting with him. This could make her career! He's Patricio Galán, a Latino superstar who went from mariachi music to pop. He's famous, handsome, a great singer etc. etc. Unfortunately, Cat has daddy-issues. Her birth father abandoned her and her younger sister Blanca, and they ended up in foster care - of course, eventually being adopted by the Capuletas as discussed in the first book. Cat has a huge amount of anger towards her father, and the patriarchy (it's hard to make it as a female mariachi). When she's 8 and Blanca is 6, she makes a vow never to date a mariachi and forces her younger sister to also make this vow. However, recently her sister has started a clandestine relationship with a mariachi named Luciano. Catalina is away from Blanca and unable to "Blanca, talk to me," she pleaded. "I can't just drive over to your place to tickle and cajole you out of this funk." "It's not a funk. I'm mad at you." "Why? I'm not the one breaking our promise." "A promise we made when we were kids," Blanca complained. "Por Dios, I was six years old! And you were only eight!" "But still wise enough to know what was for our own good." 64% Patricio has daddy issues of his own. His father is a hugely well-known mariachi known as El Rey (and Patricio, of course, is known as El Príncipe). His father loves the spotlight and has trained his son from a young age to never outshine him. Patricio has been tamping down his talent for years to please his controlling father. ... I was surprised I ended up liking this book more than West Side Love Story. Honestly, Angelo (the hero from the first book) is more my kind of guy. But I found the story in this one more compelling. Catalina and Patricio struggling to come to terms with their troublesome fathers. Catalina trying hard to resist falling for Patricio because doing so would break her rules. It was a better plot than Book One. As usual for Oliveras, Patricio is a hero who is really good with consent and he is respectful. I like the way men in Oliveras's books act. And - also as per usual in Oliveras's books - the thing is loaded with similes. Just brace yourself for tons and tons of similes. This doesn't bother me, I find it a bit amusing, but it could really annoy some people. Even though there is a lot of Spanglish in here, it's ALL explained, very easy to follow even if you are not a Spanish-speaker. Don't let that scare you if you don't know Spanish. HOW'S THE SEX, CARMEN? Off-page - although he does finger her on-page! Exciting! More than the last book gave us. - and it doesn't happen until 91%. 91%!!!!!! So you'd better be really freaking patient. Don't read it for the sex, is what I'm saying. TL;DR More interesting than the first book. Read it if you want a Latino romance novel that is light and sweet. Read it if you like heroes who are respectful and care about consent. These books are nothing earth-shattering but they are cute and sweet and a fun time if you like romance with a mexicano bent and a focus on the world of mariachi. NAMES IN THIS BOOK (view spoiler)[ Catalina f George m Patricio m Alberto m Vincente m Blanca f Arturo m Berta f Claudia f 16 Nina f Sabrina f Violeta f Mariana f Teresita f 13 Fabiola f Luciano m Jorge m Magdalena f Magda Carlito m Gustavo m Tonio m Gordo m Carmen f Freddie m Pedro m (hide spoiler)] ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Jun 22, 2023
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Jun 24, 2023
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Jun 22, 2023
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Kindle Edition
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| 4.14
| 2,660
| Feb 14, 2020
| Feb 24, 2020
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did not like it
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SHORT REVIEW "Were you truly not listening to anything I said in there?" "Honestly? No. I was imagining the two of us fucking." Warmth spread to my cheek SHORT REVIEW "Were you truly not listening to anything I said in there?" "Honestly? No. I was imagining the two of us fucking." Warmth spread to my cheeks, and my pulse thumped, despite myself. A torpedo shot between my legs. 9% A torpedo shot between her legs!?!?!? Also, he met her about half an hour ago. Just skip this. Avoid it. Definitely don't pay money for it. ... LONG(ER) REVIEW: Listen, the book is horrible. The hero's headspace is disgusting. I should have DNFed at 8% when he calls a woman he doesn't even know a "slut." He meets the heroine when she reads his dead father's will. He's fucking her an hour later. Why? Well, the heroine has absolutely no will. She just blindly obeys. Not only Rock (the hero) but any male. She has no personality. She has no will. She has no character. She's like a meat puppet. I have NO idea how she became an attorney, or keeps a job as one. This isn't even a BDSM, sex-thing like: oh, submissive or whatever. It's not like that. It's like shitty writing. It's not a sex thing, it's just a shitty writing thing. Also, even creepier and more disgusting than her instant cave-in to anything Rock (or whomever she's dating) suggests is her copy-catting him. She likes her steak medium. He tells her rare is better. He orders her a rare steak. She tries it. Suddenly, it's the only thing she orders when she goes out to eat. It's bizarre. He drinks bourbon. He makes her try it. Suddenly, she orders bourbon (even mimicking his exact drink order to the word) every single time she goes out now. She's an instant bourbon-drinker. It's all she'll touch. Again, this isn't some BDSM, submit-to-me shit. It's just a complete lack of a personality or will on the heroine's part. And some kind of messaging that he is teaching her the RIGHT things to like and teaching her the RIGHT tastes to have. Basically he wants to date himself. A version of himself that has a vagina and breasts. That's it. Full stop. All his 'fantasies' about her that are non-sexual (and those are rare) are of her riding on his motorcycle, moving to Montana where he lives, eating beef stew, going hunting with him, skinning animals etc. etc. etc. Does she have any interest in doing any of those things? Probably not, but she will after he tells her to. ??? It never even occurs to him that she might not have an interest in these things, and he doesn't bother to fucking ask, either. There's some bizarre side-plot about his father getting murdered and both he and Lacey getting framed for it. There's also child-rape in the form of incest in here, and male-on-male rape. So, if that bothers you, might want to skip this one. The book ends on a cliffhanger. If that bothers you, skip it. HOW'S THE SEX, CARMEN? Atrocious. The guy doesn't believe in foreplay, 90% of the sex scenes are him just jamming his cock into her with no warm-up. Literally the author uses the word 'jamming.' Kissing is 'smashing his mouth on hers.' Honestly it all sounds pretty painful and uncomfortable and definitely not sexy. She's insistent this is the best sex she's ever had, I feel incredibly sorry for her. She's VERY impressed he didn't rape her while she was black-out drunk. He'd taken care of me last night, and he could have easily taken advantage of me. No. A man like Rock Wolfe wouldn't do that. He was no gentleman, but he wasn't a criminal. And not because he had any kind of high moral ground. He just wanted a woman to be completely aware of everything he was doing to her. 49% Just because he didn't rape her, doesn't mean he has MORALS, okay? Morals are for dweebs. No, he just doesn't rape women because then he can't hear them moan in pleasure while he jams his cock into them. ?!?!?!!?!?!? He also wants a medal for this. I ought to get a medal for this. But strangely, as beautiful and enticing as she was, I still had no desire to take advantage of her. Odd. 44% So odd he doesn't want to rape an unconscious woman. Something must be wrong with him! It must be... LOVE! Also, he wants a medal for it. Seriously, are standards for men THIS LOW? All a man has to do is refrain from raping someone and he's the catch of the century?!!?! So, so sad. So terribly sad. I think you can do better, Lacey. She just believes him when he says he's clean (even though this guy is a walking hard-on and I imagine he's had sex with hundreds of women, or at least the author wants us to believe that) and allows him to fuck her without a condom. She's so fucking stupid. You know the drill, they are declaring their undying love to each other and getting engaged after ten days. TEN DAYS. He still has NO FUCKING CLUE about a single interest of hers. Not like he cares. Not like she has any. But still. It's fucking insulting. TL;DR Avoid. Avoid. Avoid. The only surprises in this book is Hardt's unfortunate inclusion of stuff like child-rape/incest and male-on-male rape. And the part where Lacey - out of nowhere - propositions her masseuse. Baffling. Absolutely baffling. Usually that would never happen in a 'romance.' She doesn't go through with it after deciding her masseuse is 'boring.' But she was seriously considering it. She even bares her breasts to him. It's so strange. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Feb 07, 2023
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Feb 08, 2023
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Feb 07, 2023
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Kindle Edition
| |||||||||||||||||
| 125076663X
| 9781250766632
| 125076663X
| 3.73
| 13,846
| May 31, 2022
| May 31, 2022
|
liked it
|
Do you really have to be special to be loved? pg. 36 Sequel to Tokyo Ever After. I actually enjoyed this novel more than the first one. I'm not sure wh Do you really have to be special to be loved? pg. 36 Sequel to Tokyo Ever After. I actually enjoyed this novel more than the first one. I'm not sure why. Because we already know all the characters and don't have to go through any set-up? Because the plot was more interesting to me? IDK. This book follows our favorite "aggressively average" princess, Izumi. She is the result of a torrid love affair between the Crown Prince of Japan and her mother while the two were at Harvard. In the first book, she discovers who her father is and meets him and has to be prepped for royal life. Think THE PRINCESS DIARIES meets NEVER HAVE I EVER. She also falls for her hot, stern bodyguard Akio. In book two, the plot revolves around Hanako and Makoto's romance. That's Izumi's mom and the crown prince. After not seeing each other for 18 years, they met again in Book One and guess what? Sparks were still there. So both Izumi and her mom are living in Japan, adjusting to Imperial life there, and having romance - Hanako with the Crown Prince, her long-lost love; and Izumi with her hot ex-bodyguard boyfriend. But are Imperial demands going to be too much for two Americans used to living an unscripted life? ... THE GOOD: - Strong mother/daughter relationship. Touching. Sweet. - Strong female friendship vibes. Of course, Izumi is still in touch with AGG (Asian Girl Gang) and they are trying to make it work long distance. The friends would do anything for each other. And in Japan, (view spoiler)[Izumi FINALLY befriends Noriko and Akiko (The Shining Twins) after they bullied her and hurt her in the first novel. I was relieved. I always thought that perhaps they could be allies. Although from different worlds (the twins with silver spoons in their mouths from birth), the three actually have some things in common. (hide spoiler)] - I like how Izumi has changed since Book One. Jean really shows (not tells - even though I think that's a rather stupid line to use about books) her evolution. The polishing pays off. While still Izumi, she's definitely changed and grown from Book One and it's nice to see that character development. You definitely cheer for Izumi, she's someone who you are rooting for. THE BAD: No real complaints. THE LOVE TRIANGLE: I have mixed feelings about this one. (view spoiler)[Akio breaks up with Izumi at 17% in a stunning betrayal that had me upset. What the FUCK, Akio?!!?!? What happened to all that romantic shit you were spewing in Book One? Like you'll strive to be a man who deserves her and blah blah blah?!!? I was SO ANGRY with him. I ended Book One liking him. Thinking highly of him. Well, that all went out the window when he broke up with her. WHAT A DICKBAG. "Akio broke up with me." I duck my head and use the edge of my T-shirt to wipe my nose. I'm such a disaster. "What? Why?" she says, surprised. Then her eyes narrow. "Say the word, and I'll cut off his dangle and sew it back on his ass like a little tail." pg. 63 YES, I am onboard with this plan, Noora. YES. Anyway, in typical YA fashion, this opens up the possibility of a love triangle when Izumi is introduced to her tutor. The boy is cute, hair tousled like a pirate's, and eyes crinkled with a perpetual smile. He's tall, taller than Akio, and lean, with a swimmer's body. He wears a Ramones T-shirt, jeans ripped at the knees, and a motorcycle jacket. Around his neck hangs a pair of motorcycle goggles. pg. 74 At first, they have no interest in each other and agree to a Fake Dating arrangement to mollify both their parents. But eventually (pretty slowly for a YA) it morphs into something more. Then Akio comes crawling back (grrrr) and Izumi spends a solid 30 pages or so deciding which one to pick. I was advocating both. Obviously. She could be with Akio Tuesdays, Thursdays, every other Friday and alternating weekends, and with Eriku Mondays, Wednesdays, every other Friday and alternating weekends. Just think of it! A Japanese princess with TWO consorts. But that's a storyline for an adult "non-traditional" romance novel, not a YA contemporary where the readers want her to pick one, in a Team Edward / Team Jacob situation. Sigh. This is part of the reason I generally avoid YA. (hide spoiler)] Happy, cute ending though. I enjoyed it. IZUMI I like how Izumi is real - drinks, swears, pees, screws up. (view spoiler)[Has sex with her boyfriend. Off-page sex, but still. (hide spoiler)] Jean allows her to be a normal person. I appreciate it. TL;DR I actually liked this sequel more than the original. I liked how it resolved on multiple fronts. I liked the character development of Izumi between this and the first book. It was enjoyable. You can't dive in here, though. I mean, you could, but I'd advise reading Book One first. RELATED MATERIALS: The Princess Diaries [image] by Meg Cabot The TANGLED tv show. Not the movie. The TV show. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4902964/ NAMES IN THIS BOOK: (view spoiler)[ Chōwa m Aimi f Takehito m Chika f Kuniko f Tamako f Sei Yukihito m Toshihito Makotonomiya m Nobuhito m Midori f Yumiko f Asako f Rasuhito m Izumi Izzy f Zoom Zoom 19 Akiko f Noriko f Sachiko f Masahito m Yoshihito m Yoshi Haya f Noora f Tamagotchi dog terrier mix Hansani f Sri Lankan Glory f half-Filipino Forest m Hanako f Makoto Mak m Makotonomiya 40 Harmony f Denny m Emily f Olivia f David m Akio m 21? Mariko f Shoji m Tommy m Shigesada m Ryu m Yasuhito m Junko m Chie m Taka m Sam m Yoko f Sadako f Glen m Adrian m Tadashi m Reina f Shirasu m Tomo m Jutaro m Carly f Lindsey f Ava f Ichiro m Denji m Himari f Yui f Hina f Terry m Junko f Joseph m Eriku m 19 Momo-chan Saint Bernard Hanzo m Fumiko f Sugar Magnolia rabbit (hide spoiler)] ...more |
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1
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Feb 03, 2023
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Feb 03, 2023
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Feb 01, 2023
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Hardcover
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| 3.89
| 48,022
| May 18, 2021
| May 18, 2021
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liked it
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I recognize myself in their faces - in their dark eyes, hair, skin color - but not in their mannerisms, their customs. I thought Japan would be differ
I recognize myself in their faces - in their dark eyes, hair, skin color - but not in their mannerisms, their customs. I thought Japan would be different. I thought I'd slip into the country like an old coat. While some things are familiar, there are things I'll never understand. Tonight, I've stepped out the door and into Tokyo, but it's not my home. pg. 121 Cute book, perfectly serviceable YA contemporary. I enjoyed it, but it's not anything revolutionary. Izumi (age 18, Californian) has never known who her father is. She's a senior in high school. One day, she and her friend are putting on her mom's makeup and they find a book with an inscription in it. My dearest Hanako, Please let these words say what I cannot speak: I wish I were close To you as the wet skirt of A salt girl to her body. I think of you always. - Yamabe no Akahito Yours, Makoto "Mak" 2003 pg. 8 Well, Izumi was born in 2003 and she never knew her father - someone her mother was very closed-lip about and told Izumi that he was merely a one-night-stand. Some sleuthing on the part of Izumi and her friends lead them to discover that this mysterious inscription was written by none other than the Crown Prince of Japan, Makoto. Could Izumi be a long-lost princess? Yes. And she goes to Japan to get to know her father. ... ANALYSIS: THE GOOD: - Discussion of identity. Izumi struggles a lot with not feeling "American enough" in her mostly-white town. She hopes for some resolutions in Japan, but doesn't find them - to the Japanese she's an American. She doesn't even speak Japanese! And she's certainly not royal in her bearing. - Izumi has a pretty snarky inner voice. She's not GREAT, like Janeane Garofalo, or even Devi Vishwakumar, although I feel like this is kind of a precursor to that show. I was getting real NEVER HAVE I EVER vibes. It's not THE SAME, ok, Izumi is not as filled with anger or intense I-don't-give-a-fuck-ness that Devi is, but she's like a milder version of Devi's. She made some funny comments in the book, although I didn't find it laugh-out-loud. This is Izzy's pre-penis earring phase, circa junior year - a lonely and angry time. pg. 280 After, Mom shows my father the compost bin. Note to self: give Mom tips on romance. pg. 287 God grant me the confidence of someone having an entire conversation on speakerphone in public. pg. 301 - Strong female friendship (although of course her friends stay in America while Izumi is in Japan). A group of four, they call themselves Asian Girl Gang. They are pretty funny and get into a lot of shenanigans and I think it was a cute yet realistic portrayal of teenage female friendship. - Some sweet scenes with her father. I think a plotline about a young woman meeting her (previously unknown) father for the first time is a good idea. Touching. Seeing them tentatively try to get to know one another was poignant. - I felt sorry for Izumi going to Japan and basically have every single person be a jerk to her. It was pretty awful. - She's a real person with real flaws. She describes herself as 'aggressively average' and Jean doesn't try to make her a Mary Sue in any way. Good to read about a MC who pees, wears schlubby clothes, makes questionable decisions, often doesn't do the right things. Swears, hides alcohol from her mom, draws penis earrings on pictures of guys she hates, etc. etc. THE BAD: - Lots of pop culture references. This book won't age well. - Sometimes Izumi has no common sense. I mean, just basic common sense. It makes things so much worse for her and it was hard for me to believe a smart character like this could be so stupid. THE ROMANCE: Of course, it's a YA with a romance. What would a YA be without romance? LOL Izumi at first clashes with her handsome Imperial Guard. LIKES - Bossing people around - Schedules - Tom Ford suits - Earpieces - Glowering and more bossing people around DISLIKES - Tardiness - A joie de vivre approach to life - Princesses who pee, watch Downton Abbey, or accept radishes from chefs pg. 64 So what if he looks like The Rock and Daniel Dae Kim had a baby and raised it in the wilderness? I'm sure this attraction is only one-sided. I've had too many unrequited crushes to waste my time on another. I decide to focus all my energy on hating him. Good thing he makes it easy. pg. 98 But her feelings eventually turn romantic. I can understand why. He's her handsome bodyguard. And he is pretty funny, they get along humor-wise. I was less convinced as to why he'd be so into her. Kind of baffled, especially since he could lose everything as an Imperial Guard by getting entangled with a princess. I mean, I liked her, don't get me wrong, but I wasn't liking her enough that I thought a 20-year-old Japanese man steeped in tradition would throw everything to the wind for her. YMMV. As this is aimed at a teenage audience, Akio is prone to saying ridiculously romantic things that few men would say IRL like: "I know I'm not the man you or your family need me to be. But I'm on my way. I promise if you give me this chance, I'll spend my lifetime being worthy of you." pg. 320 "If I could speak freely, I might say you remind me of Kannon, the goddess of mercy, with dark hair that absorbs the light. A face so lovely it blinded men... and yet, so far from a mere mortal's reach." With a single finger, he traces my hairline, leaving sparks in its wake. pg. 234 Stuff like this. As an adult reader, I find this absolutely ridiculous and laughable, but for a teenager it's probably very drugging. I rolled my eyes every time this started to happen. Ugh. But that's what I get for reading a YA. I knew what I was getting into. TL;DR Kind of a mash-up between THE PRINCESS DIARIES and NEVER HAVE I EVER. I enjoyed it, but it was not anything special or that I would be shoving at other people and demanding they read. If you want a fun "OMG-I-discovered-I'm-a-princess" story with some romance thrown in, this will please you. If you like NEVER HAVE I EVER, this is like a milder less electric version of that show. There's definitely things to like in here, but not things to love IMO. NAMES IN THIS BOOK: (view spoiler)[ Chōwa m Aimi f Takehito m Chika f Kuniko f Tamako f Sei Yukihito m Toshihito Makotonomiya m Nobuhito m Midori f Yumiko f Asako f Rasuhito m Izumi Izzy f Zoom Zoom 18 Akiko f Noriko f Sachiko f Masahito m Yoshihito m Yoshi Haya f Noora f Tamagotchi dog terrier mix Hansani f Sri Lankan Glory f half-Filipino Forest m Hanako f Makoto Mak m Makotonomiya 39 Harmony f Denny m Emily f Olivia f David m Akio m 20 Mariko f Shoji m Tommy m Shigesada m Ryu m Yasuhito m Junko m Chie m Taka m Sam m Yoko f Sadako f Glen m Adrian m Tadashi m Reina f Shirasu m Tomo m Jutaro m Carly f Lindsey f Ava f Ichiro m Denji m Himari f Yui f Hina f Terry m (hide spoiler)] ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Feb 2023
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Feb 02, 2023
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Feb 01, 2023
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Hardcover
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| 0062742345
| 9780062742346
| 0062742345
| 3.30
| 10,750
| Oct 02, 2018
| Oct 02, 2018
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it was ok
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I don't exactly know how to write this review. The book is deeply depressing, despite its ostensibly (view spoiler)[kind of happy ending. (hide spoiler I don't exactly know how to write this review. The book is deeply depressing, despite its ostensibly (view spoiler)[kind of happy ending. (hide spoiler)] It's rife with sexual assault, animal abuse/murder, slavery - all meant to illustrate the evils of the patriarchy. Well, it definitely will sicken you. Whether this accomplishes the author's goal or not is unclear. I left feeling depressed and worn-out and angry that I had to read all that horrible stuff happening. It's pretty sickening and revolting on a lot of levels - treatment of women, treatment of animals, and let's not forget some pretty sick sexual stuff as well. I agree with the author's premise that the patriarchy is evil and women should be liberated and etc. etc. I just wish it was more nuanced and perhaps interspersed with some joy one and a while. It's hard to enjoy a book or say 'it's good' when it's just such a downer. The prose is beautiful, I liked Arnold's lyrical and evocative writing. It's in a lush, fairy tale style. I feel the way about this book the way I felt about Babel, Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution - just SO unnecessarily heavy-handed. In Kuang's case is was RACISM IS BAD and in this book it's THE PATRIARCHY IS BAD. Although I agree with both authors' statements, no one wants this hammered into them unremorsefully. And in the case of this book, it was just so unrelentingly brutal - which may represent reality in a lot of cases - which made it unpleasant to read. You have to break up your despair with some good things occasionally. As it stood I was just sickened for the whole novel, not a good feeling or one I'd care to repeat. It actually kind of reminds me of The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty, which is not a compliment. They have opposite goals, but so opposite that maybe they come together around the other end. You know, women are sexually enslaved in Beauty and Anne Rice perceives this as erotic, women are sexually enslaved in Damsel and Arnold sees this as an injustice and a horror, but at the end of the day both are sickening (IMO) portrayals of enslaved women in a fairy-tale setting. Not to say this is an 'erotica,' it definitely isn't, but it is reminiscent of what's at the core of Beauty. TL;DR I had high hopes for this, but I can't in good conscience recommend it. It's brutal and dismal. Reading about such horrible conditions with not a lot of hope made me close the book filled with despair. I'm not sure I'd wish this reading experience on other people. While filled with lush and illuminated writing, the subjects of slavery, animal cruelty, sexual assault, sexual perversion and etc. etc. deaden your enthusiasm for Arnold's pretty prose. If you want anti-patriarchal fairy tale take-downs, there are plenty to read that aren't this depressing. Examples: The Ordinary Princess [image] Dealing with Dragons [image] Except the Queen [image] Probably tons of YA that I don't know because I attempt to avoid YA, especially YA fantasy. ...more |
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1
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Jan 29, 2023
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Jan 29, 2023
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Jan 29, 2023
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ebook
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| 1620108593
| 9781620108598
| 1620108593
| 4.10
| 1,361
| Mar 29, 2022
| Mar 29, 2022
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it was ok
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I came out of this more confused than when I went in. [image] I was hoping for something illuminating like Gender Queer: A Memoir. [image] Perhaps I shoul I came out of this more confused than when I went in. [image] I was hoping for something illuminating like Gender Queer: A Memoir. [image] Perhaps I should pick up Ace: What Asexuality Reveals About Desire, Society, and the Meaning of Sex. [image] The only thing that made sense to me was the part where they were talking about asexual stereotypes. Hence the two stars. [image] ...more |
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1
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Jan 27, 2023
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Jan 27, 2023
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Jan 27, 2023
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Paperback
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| 1639550496
| 9781639550494
| 1639550496
| 4.33
| 6,489
| May 10, 2022
| May 10, 2022
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it was amazing
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FOALING SEASON 1 In the dew-saturated foot-high blades of grass, we stand amongst a sea of foals, mare and foal, mare and foal, all over the soft hillsid FOALING SEASON 1 In the dew-saturated foot-high blades of grass, we stand amongst a sea of foals, mare and foal, mare and foal, all over the soft hillside there are twos, small duos ringing harmoniously in the cold, swallows diving in and out, their fabled forked tail where the story says the fireball hit it as it flew to bring fire to humanity. Our friend the Irishman drives us in the Gator to sit amongst them. Everywhere doubles of horses still leaning on each other, still nuzzling and curious with each new image. 2 Two female horses, retired mares, separated by a sliding barn door, nose each other. Neither of them will get pregnant again, their job is to just be a horse. Sometimes, though, they cling to one another, find a friend and will whine all night for the friend to be released. Through the gate, the noses touch, and you can almost hear— Are you okay? Are you okay? 3 I will never be a mother. That’s all. That’s the whole thought. I could say it returns to me, watching the horses. Which is true. But also I could say that it came to me as the swallows circled us over and over, something about that myth of their tail, how generosity is punished by the gods. But isn’t that going too far? I saw a mare with her foal, and then many mares with many foals, and I thought, simply: I will never be a mother. 4 One foal is a biter, and you must watch him as he bares his teeth and goes for the soft spot. He’s brilliant, leggy, and comes right at me, as if directed by some greater gravity, and I stand firm, and put my hand out first, rub the long white marking on his forehead, silence his need for biting with affection. I love his selfishness, our selfishness, the two of us testing each other, swallows all around us. Every now and then, his teeth come at me once again; he wants to teach me something, wants to get me where it hurts. Still really enjoy Limón's work. I think her poems are quite touching. I also relate to her. Highly recommend this and Bright Dead Things. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Jan 26, 2023
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Jan 26, 2023
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Jan 26, 2023
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Hardcover
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| 0593484681
| 9780593484685
| 0593484681
| 4.32
| 4,497
| May 10, 2022
| May 10, 2022
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really liked it
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"And there's even a gay kid in my class." "No, there isn't," Mom said. "Yes, there is," I said. "How can you say 'No, there isn't'? That makes no sense. "And there's even a gay kid in my class." "No, there isn't," Mom said. "Yes, there is," I said. "How can you say 'No, there isn't'? That makes no sense." "Nobody your age can know what he or she is. You're too young. You can decide those things later, but not now." pg. 122 I thought this was a great book. I'll be reviewing it as an adult with the added caveat that people who want to ban books make me froth at the mouth, so... The book is aimed at elementary school children, it stars 12-year-olds who are in 5th grade, for context. I always aim a little younger, I think kids are advanced faster than people realize, so I would be assuming 4th and 5th graders are reading this. The book revolves around three plots. 1.) Mr. Howe's fifth-grade class is assigned to read THE ADVENTURERS. MC Donovan innocently takes it home and reads a few pages before going to watch TV. His mother picks it up and that's when everything goes to hell. His mom is someone who is often talked about in a slur now, meaning a woman who complains about everything and nitpicks everything and always wants to talk to a manager. The truth was, my mother had spent far more time in the principal's office than I had. Sometimes it was just for meetings - whenever there was a committee or a task force for parents, Mom would volunteer. But other times, she went to the principal's office because she felt it was her job to tell her what the school could be doing better. The cafeteria food could be more nutritious. The holiday concert could contain some holiday music instead of songs from the radio. A committee could be formed to fundraise for the new jungle gym because the one we climbed on at recess looked like it was about to topple. pg. 24 The book THE ADVENTURERS is pretty innocuous. It's a rather boringly-plotted (from a grownup point of view) book about kid spies. There are two boys and one girl. They go on missions, defeat bad guys, wrestle alligators etc. etc. Donovan's mom's whole objection is pretty much the last sentence of the book: At that moment Rick knew just how deeply he loved Oliver, and Oliver knew just how deeply he loved Rick, and the understanding of this moment would lead them to much of the happiness and adventure that came next. Because of this, she believes that the book (and Donovan's teacher, Mr. Howe, who is gay) is pushing a gay agenda and is trying to 'turn kids gay.' She calls up a whole bunch of parents and tries to get the book banned. Poor Donovan tries to deal with the fallout of having a mom like this at school. 2.) Chapters excerpted from THE ADVENTURERS. The least interesting part of the novel IMO, and I'm saying that as an adult. 3.) Chapters about Gideon, who has a new boy transfer to his class. The new boy is named Roberto, and Gideon desperately wants to be his friend. Only, it felt different. He wanted Roberto's friendship in a way he didn't feel he'd wanted any of the others'. pg. 77 ... I really liked the book, but that could be because book-banning makes me rabid and these book-banners are everywhere nowadays. And they are so fucking stupid. *seethes* Don't get me started. ANYWAY. The book carefully lays out intelligent, adult arguments about books. Such as, a book is not going to turn your kid gay. "Do you think my mom thinks I'm gay?" I asked. pg. 99 Donovan asks Mr. Howe this incredulously. As far as he can tell, he's straight. His relationship with his mom is carefully avoidant. Although his mom is rallying an entire 'army' to try and get this book banned, she never ever discusses it with her child. As soon as Donovan figures out what she is doing, he gets another copy of the book from the school library and reads it cover-to-cover (his mom confiscated the book he was issued in class). The other kids in his class are doing the same thing - frantically reading the book so as to find out what the big deal is. Then they argue about if the characters are gay. Their teacher says it doesn't matter. The kids still want to hash it out. "It doesn't matter whether they are or not... but Rick and Oliver are definitely gay," Allison said. "It's not DEFINITE," Sean said. His parents had let him bring back the book himself. "I wasn't sure at first," Luther said. "But, yeah, by the end - so gay." "But what about Melody?" Patience asked. "Don't you think they're both crushing on Melody?" "There's a difference between flirting and crushing," Kira said. "I think Rick loves her," Tarah said quietly. "I think Rick loves Oliver," Amelia countered. "I think the point of the book is that the Adventurers need to stop McAllister from unleashing his evil on the world through the Doomsday Code," Jeffrey put in. "I don't think Rick and Oliver are in love or not in love. I think they're friends and, most importantly, Adventurers. You guys just don't understand the Adventurers' mission AT ALL." Allison and some others looked skeptical, so I said, "C'mon - you have to admit, Jeffrey has a point. If this were a week ago, we'd all be talking about the action scenes. And yes, Patience, maybe about which of the boys Melody likes more. The only reason we're talking about whether or not Rick and Oliver are gay is because we were told that was part of it before we had a chance to read it." I didn't even realize the trap I'd walked into until Curtis said, "Yeah, Donovan. And whose fault is that? Who decided to pull the books out of our hands before any of us had a chance to read it?" "That's not fair," Allison said. "It's not his fault that his mom... did what she did." Curtis looked me in the eye. "How do we know it wasn't you who went crying to your mommy, complaining that the book was going to make him gay?" "That's not what happened, I said quickly. "She took it off the kitchen counter and read the ending while I was watching TV." Curtis looked satisfied by this explanation. Then he said, "Good. Because I happen to know that the author of this book must be gay, and Rick and Oliver must be gay too. Because I'm gay, and I know what he's talking about." This was news to all of us. pg. 64 This cracked me up, this is exactly what a kid would say and exactly the hype train that a kid would ride to come out with maximum drama and street cred. In case you are wondering, Levithan plays this book pretty soft. Although Donovan's mom's book banning efforts DO draw the attention of gay-haters who show up at the school board meeting spouting disgusting rhetoric about homosexuality being a sin, overall people are pretty kind. No kids in the class, for example, ostracize Curtis for declaring himself gay or call him slurs for it. I found this unbelievable, and anyone who has been on a public school playground for ten minutes will undoubtedly agree with me. No kids side with Donovan's mom and suggest she's right for banning a book based on the fact that it might feature a boy having feelings for another boy. Which is incredible - I'm sure some of these kids are being raised in bigoted households. The chapters revolving around Gideon and Roberto falling in love (or whatever the 12-year-old version of this is) are very sweet. Their relationship is pretty adorable and even though Gideon's parents would probably not allow them to see each other, they find refuge in Roberto's mom who is kind to the boys and seems okay with her son being gay. Also, Donovan (when he finally works up the courage to talk to his mom about the elephant in the room) says he already knows about gay people because, for example, his teacher is a gay man and his little friend has lesbian parents. And etc. IRL, of course, he would know about gay people and gay sexual acts (in as negative a light as possible) from what kids say to each other on the school bus and playground. 12 is even too old. You wouldn't believe the shit that comes out of 9-year-olds' mouths. If you are a parent and you think your kid is still totally ignorant as to anything but the straight no-sex-before-marriage utopia you have presented to them, I have bad news for you. Even before the invention of the Internet, this was not true. Schoolyard 'education' takes care of that pretty quickly. But Levithan plays softball here. On a whole, the kids are nice. On a whole, even the fucking book-banners are revolted when the rabid gay-haters show up spewing shit at the school board meeting. On a whole, being a gay kid is presented as something that will be kindly accepted by your classmates, and you will be treated well. This isn't REALISTIC, but since it's kid's fiction I'm going to give it a pass. Might as well enjoy it and enjoy this rather sunny portrayal of gay acceptance. Not to say we haven't made progress, we have. I don't know if anyone remembers the horror that was the '90s. Things are better. Still not good, and we seem to be regressing in this 'burn books like it's 1933' recent uprising and 'all gay people are pedophiles' idea which I thought we had gotten over after the 1960s. It's honestly baffling to me. The book has twists! Kids might be interested in figuring out the twists. I liked them. TL;DR So glad I read this book, I really enjoyed it. Not sure how much appreciation it will get from 4th and 5th graders, though. As an adult I was intensely interested, perhaps since book banning engulfs me in rage. I also thought the thread about the two kids meeting and crushing on each other was pretty sweet and cute. The only part I could have skipped were the chapters lifted from the controversial book THE ADVENTURERS. Just sounded like run-of-the-mill children's lit that I had no interest in. Not sure how to advise you on if kids will love this or not, but if you are an adult and thinking of picking this up, have a go. It's very relevant. It also has some twists, for fun. RELATED MATERIALS: Our Missing Hearts [image] by Celeste Ng NAMES IN THIS BOOK (view spoiler)[ Gideon m Giddy Samson – turtle Joelle f Tucker m Debbie f Dana f Roberto m Latino Rick – fictional m 12 Christopher m Oliver fictional m 12 Donovan m 5th grade Sean m Tarah f Allison f Carrie f Melody f fictional Kira f Amelia f Curtis m Bryan m Agnes f fictional Dieter m fictional Olivia f Anna f Luther m Mia f Isaac m Patience f Jeffrey m gay Ron m Megan f Hannah f Jacques m fictional. Bert m Darren m Cora f Jackson m April f (hide spoiler)] ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Jan 20, 2023
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Jan 21, 2023
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Jan 20, 2023
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Hardcover
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| 1338733893
| 9781338733891
| 1338733893
| 3.87
| 1,195
| Jun 07, 2022
| Jun 07, 2022
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did not like it
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"I can't believe it! A real live queer lived in my apartment, more than seventy years ago." pg. 64 Who would say this?! Who would say, 'A real live que "I can't believe it! A real live queer lived in my apartment, more than seventy years ago." pg. 64 Who would say this?! Who would say, 'A real live queer!!!!' Ugh, I didn't like this at all. It's about Sam, a non-binary 12-year old. They have a best friend named TJ (also non-binary). They have an old white lady neighbor who has a little pug that they walk and play with. They have a femme/non-binary couple downstairs whom they adore, the couple has a baby and Sam babysits the baby frequently and really looks up to Jess (the femme) and (to a lesser extent) Val, the non-binary half of the couple. The plot revolves (mostly) around a contest being held at school to build a new statue on Staten Island. TJ and Sam partner up and are determined to nominate someone other than a white, cisgender male. They settle on Alice Austen, a lesbian, whom they are especially delighted with because Austen used to live in their apartment building. ... There are two problems I had with this book: I didn't really like any of the characters. They weren't likeable. The book is pretty flat and unemotional, but what little I see of their characters I'm not interested in. There's nothing to draw me in. Typical dialogue involves TJ lecturing Sam for assuming the Statue of Liberty uses she/her pronouns. It's that kind of book. I found it preposterous. The second problem is that I didn't really understand where Gino was going with this or why. I don't know if this is because I am a cisgendered straight woman or simply because the writing is poor. I'd have to read other reviews to see if I'm in the minority here. Sam spends tons of time with Jess. Jess cooks very yummy food and feeds it to Sam all the time. Jess encourages Sam to say 'breast' and gives Sam homework to go home and say 'breast' because it's just like any other body part. They 'belly bump' instead of high-fiving or fist-bumping or whatever people do nowadays. It means they raise their shirt and press their bellies together. I found this bizarre. Jess also undresses in front of Sam, saying it's important for fat kids to see fat bodies. ??? This is so weird to me. Am I missing something? If I was Sam's mother, and a neighbor downstairs was undressing in front of my child, just for funsies I would be FREAKED OUT. And I don't care if my child, OR/AND the neighbor was male/female/other or genderqueer or straight or gay or nonbinary or whatever... this seems questionable to me. ??? Does this sound sketchy to you? It's an apartment - Jess has bedrooms. Why doesn't Jess just change in the bedroom? Sam is 12. Jess is 25. Then Jess and Sam get into a huge fight where they don't talk for weeks. What is the fight about, you ask? Well, Sam comes to Jess upset because Sam's project (view spoiler)[didn't win highest marks in their class, therefore will not become a statue. Sam is angry their mom isn't upset enough about this, so they run to Jess to vent their frustrations, hoping another queer person will be more upset on their behalf. But Jess isn't. Jess is like, "Well, at least you tried. And you got a great grade! It sucks, but it isn't the end of the world." Then Sam says, "I thought best friends were supposed to believe in each other." Jess is just silent. Then she's like, Val (her lover) is my best friend. And Sam's like, "Well, TJ is my best friend and you can have more than one best friend." And Jess is just flat out. "We're not best friends. You're twelve." Sam is SO UPSET. Runs off crying. (hide spoiler)]They don't talk for weeks. WEEKS. BUT THEN, by the end of the book, (view spoiler)[they are back to belly bumping (even in public) and saying "I love you" to each other and calling each other "found family" which is, I guess acceptable terminology but saying they are friends or best friends is UNACCEPTABLE terminology. (hide spoiler)] I JUST DID NOT GET IT. I didn't get why they were fighting. I didn't get why they made up. I didn't get why everything in their relationship was absolutely the same (view spoiler)[maybe even more intense, since they've started saying 'I love you' to each other, but since they call each other 'queer family' or 'Jess is my mentor' or 'found family' it's suddenly fine. (hide spoiler)] WHY? I feel like I am missing something huge here. About the true meaning of the word 'friend?' I have no idea. I have no idea what Gino is trying to say. I have to admit I'm completely baffled on more than one level. And they think their teacher is a bigot because they (view spoiler)[didn't win the class contest (hide spoiler)]. They (TJ and Sam) are convinced this is because their teacher is a huge bigot. I mean, MAYBE that's why...? And he gave them a 93% on their project. This is mainly Gino's fault for not giving the teacher any character and we have zero insight into his thought processes. Like I said, everyone is pretty flat and one-dimensional in this novel. After reading Anderson's brilliant portrayals of HS teachers (both good and bad) in Speak, this is really falling down on the job. TL;DR Boring, lame-ass plot. I didn't like any of the characters, I basically thought they were all annoying. COMPLETELY CONFUSED about the whole Sam/Jess fight and its resolution. Made NO sense to me. I'm not sure if I'm just in the dark because I'm straight. ??? Also thought some of Jess's behaviors toward Sam were weird. Also quite preachy and lecture-y, which I didn't appreciate. It was not natural or flowing, it was forced. Would you allow kids to read this? Of course, don't be ridiculous. I believe in intellectual freedom. Kids should read whatever interests them. Would you put this in a school/classroom library? Of course. Why not? Again, just because I didn't understand something or disliked something doesn't mean someone else won't love it or it won't mean something to someone else. I mean, Danielle Steel is on the bestsellers list every single week and I despise her writing. Everyone has their preferences. Maybe this will be some kid's favorite book, IDK. NAMES IN THIS BOOK: (view spoiler)[ TJ non-binary? Italian-American Jess f femme 28 Val non-binary 25 Graduate Student and teaching assistant at The New School in Manhattan, Latino/Black Evie f Nacious – pug Eli m Abe m Josh m Cara f Liz f Sarah f Jason m Rebekkah f Randy m Sammy m Anthony m Sam MC non-binary 12 Giuseppe m Martin m Lillian f Leslie f Alanna f Sarah f Joanne f Rhyan ? Dan m Erik m Sonia f Judy f Marcus m Miles m Parker f Hannah f Gabe m Reese Kelsey Cherrie Angela (hide spoiler)] ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Jan 17, 2023
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Jan 17, 2023
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Jan 17, 2023
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Hardcover
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| 0063240084
| 9780063240087
| 0063240084
| 3.99
| 4,108
| Nov 01, 2022
| Nov 01, 2022
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really liked it
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A good book of poetry by the Korean-American author Franny Choi. Mainly deals with racism, the U.S. bombing of Japan in WWII, the death of Choi's boyfr A good book of poetry by the Korean-American author Franny Choi. Mainly deals with racism, the U.S. bombing of Japan in WWII, the death of Choi's boyfriend, and the apocalypse. It's pretty dark and depressing. But good. Compelling. DISASTER MEANS "WITHOUT A STAR" Sixty-six million years after the end of the world, I click purchase on an emergency go bag from Amazon. When it arrives, I’ll use my teeth to tear open the plastic, unzip the pack stitched by girls who look like me but for their N95s, half a judgment day away, no evacuation plan in sight. Another episode of the present tense, and I can’t stop thinking about the timeline where the asteroid misses, Earth ruled eternally by the car-hearted and walnut-brained. Meanwhile, I’m merely gorging on the butterfly effects of ashes, ashes; reaching for the oat milk while, hundreds of feet below, a chalk line marks the moment we were all doomed. We were done for. We were science fiction before science, or fiction. One billion judgment days later, I’m alive and ashamed of my purchases; I’m afraid of being afraid; I’m the world’s worst mother. My sister calls, and it’s already too late for things to be better. Every mistake, an asteroid that’s already hit, history already mushroomed into one million species of unfit, their fossilized corpses already forming coastlines, austere offices. This year was a layer cake of catastrophe long before any of us could, biologically speaking, have been imagined. Human History, a front parlor infinitely painted over with massacre, and into the fray came I, highly allergic, quick to cry, and armed with fat fists of need. I broke everything I touched. I got good grades. I was told nothing was more noble than to ensure my children would eat. I learned to take a chicken apart with my hands, to fill in a Scantron, cry on cue. Sixty-six million years after the last great extinction, six to eight business days before the next one, I whispered Speak to a fucking agent into the hold music to trigger the system into connecting me with a “real person.” I avoided coughing in public, though it was too late. I applied for a BIPOC farming intensive, though it was too late for the earth to yield anything but more corpses. New species of horror sequence were already evolving: election bot; cluster bio-bomb; driverless wife. I muttered curses to keep the deepfakes away, studied the stars for signs of the worlds to come, though they were already here—the extinctions and feudal lords, the dirty blankets, the dissidents tied to stakes or hung from branches, the price gouge, death camp, flood, bombs of liberty, bomb and bomb and bomb already dropped, already having made me from its dust, already broken and paid for and straddling my crown. What crown? If I’m king of anything, it’s being late. Omw, I type, though I’m still huddled in last year’s mistakes. Asteroid, Alexa corrects, and I say, Five minutes. Just give me five minutes. I’ll be right there. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Jan 08, 2023
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Jan 08, 2023
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Jan 08, 2023
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Hardcover
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| 1606354442
| 9781606354445
| 1606354442
| 4.65
| 57
| unknown
| Aug 31, 2022
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liked it
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Iranian-American Fatemi writes poetry about her experiences going to Iran, learning Farsi, and feeling connected to her roots. When I speak my Farsi, I Iranian-American Fatemi writes poetry about her experiences going to Iran, learning Farsi, and feeling connected to her roots. When I speak my Farsi, I see gold flakes floating in the pan. I taste the pomegranate-walnut in the sounds of azizam when my great aunt looks at me from her tiny, scarved head. And the mint dressing she makes is summoned by the words she uses to love me when I am young and nervous at a new school that is near the house where she lives. pg. 25 It's okay. Not bad, but nothing particularly powerful or heart-wrenching in my opinion. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Jan 06, 2023
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Jan 06, 2023
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Jan 06, 2023
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Paperback
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| 1636280617
| 9781636280615
| 1636280617
| 3.28
| 29
| unknown
| Oct 18, 2022
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it was ok
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Healy is a lesbian poet who suffered from encephalitis. This gave her aphasia, difficult for a poet to forget words and language. It was okay. I wasn't Healy is a lesbian poet who suffered from encephalitis. This gave her aphasia, difficult for a poet to forget words and language. It was okay. I wasn't particularly impressed. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't great either. Here's a sample: MY LIFE BEFORE A slender aphasia altered my brain, bound and zipped, my shape was not my skill. I was the haywire that fuzzed my normality and me empty as a doubt. So, my goal led me trying to talk, practicing walks, sleeping during the night. I ate all my food but I hardly complained, sometimes I just asked my name again. It is a big deal now because I was just MISSING words. Even trying to breathe deeply, writing and re-editing again. Loving my words again. My language. My friend. NAMES IN THIS BOOK (view spoiler)[ Colleen f Eloise f John m Nikita – dog (hide spoiler)] ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Jan 05, 2023
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Jan 05, 2023
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Jan 05, 2023
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Paperback
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| 0374604339
| 9780374604332
| 0374604339
| 3.77
| 64
| unknown
| Sep 13, 2022
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really liked it
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THE WONDER OF HAVING LIVED HERE A LONG TIME [EXCERPT} While here I am, inhabiting a moment that supposedly was buried In those moments I spent looking t THE WONDER OF HAVING LIVED HERE A LONG TIME [EXCERPT} While here I am, inhabiting a moment that supposedly was buried In those moments I spent looking through their windows sixty years ago, Although I don't believe it. I'm supposed to be a part of nature too, As subject to its principles as particles and stars. I know time isn't real And everything that happens happened thirteen billion years ago, When all of this somehow "occured." I realize these things, And yet deep down I think they can't be true: I wasn't even real then And in a while I won't be real anymore, like the joke shops and Tempest Storm. As things turn into time and disappear (though she's still here). And while That might be just the way things SEEM, it's the say they seem to ME. "ELMER GANTRY WAS DRUNK." [EXCERPT] It stayed with me while everything started turning: High school into college, physics to philosophy, marriage And Milwaukee, fatherhood, divorce, the years of settled solitude And the second happiness of marriage, all turning into poetry, For that's what life becomes if you can get it into words. MURRAY GELL-MANN [EXCERPT] Some things are hidden from us, not because we don't know what they are, But because they're inconceivable until they happen, like the future. The morning light in our dining room has the inevitability Of the ordinary, and yet fifty-seven years ago it was as unreal As I was then, as unimaginable as that life I had is now. Sometimes I think the past is all there is. Sometimes I think It's the other way around, that only now is real. The future though Remains an abstraction, even when we know what's going to happen, like death, Especially death. There was supposed to be a different person in this chair. Where did he go? That universal destination, nowhere? It isn't a real question, Though it sounds like one. It's merely a feeling of perplexity Here's a sampling. He also wrote some good poems about sheltering in place during Covid. He seems obsessed with poetry and physics. It wasn't my favorite book of poetry, but it's good and he makes some interesting observations. NAMES IN THIS BOOK (view spoiler)[ Sinclair m Elmer m Burt m Lulu f Sharon f Willard m Amy f Howard m Doug m Benjy m Robert m Murray m Tom m Sylvia f Eric m Susan f Butchie m Diane f Betty f Matt m Rogers m Daisy - cat Diego m Kenny m Carlos m Lanni - dog Mitzi - dog Marvin m John m Peter m Kenward m Jane f Stephen m Samuel m (hide spoiler)] ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Jan 05, 2023
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Jan 05, 2023
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Jan 05, 2023
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Hardcover
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| 0143136828
| 9780143136828
| 0143136828
| 4.04
| 114
| Sep 20, 2022
| Sep 20, 2022
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really liked it
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Book about being a Black American. The first third is about growing up. The second third is about a dimension in which Malcolm X rises from the dead aft Book about being a Black American. The first third is about growing up. The second third is about a dimension in which Malcolm X rises from the dead after he is killed. This sparks a Black religious movement. A boy who is shot to death by police decades later also rises from the dead. General consensus has it he was looking for his little cousin, and found him, even before the first cop car ran like a living ram through the people. Before the boys in blue sprang, a spray of navy fléchettes, from behind its doors. Before they were caught in the scuffle, released ten to twenty rounds of ammo into the crowd without warning, bullets glancing off of Cutlass doors and corner store glass built for battle, all but three or four of which entered the boy mid-stride, lifted his six-foot frame from the ground, legs still pumping. For a moment, you would almost swear he was running through the gunfire, preparing for liftoff or something, little cousin held firmly in his arms, shielded from the onslaught. They never would have caught him if he hadn't been holding that child, said no one, though we all thought it during the weeks following that moment we each froze, the moment his body collapsed slow as petals upon the unremarkable cement, and we stared at our champion felled by an outcome so common we don't even have a special name for it. pg. 43 That was about the little Black boy murdered by police who later rises. Here's some writing on Malcolm X coming back from the dead: Over the years, I have been asked whether seeing him walk down the street was a Paul on the road to Damascus kind of moment, or more like Doubting Thomas seeing the wounds in Christ's hands. I tend to reply that it wasn't exactly like either of those things. There is nothing quite like seeing a stranger you saw die walk again. Casually at that, down the avenue on a Wednesday, as if on his way to buy a cup of coffee. It shifts something in you that won't ever switch back. Imagine seeing the inner workings of a complex though generally familiar organism - an oak tree, for instance - in real time. The rings, root system, atomic structure, all visible via second sight you never accessed before that moment and could not explain if you tried. That's what I saw. That's what our Manifesto was initially for. I had to capture the sensation of that moment with the same deliberate intensity that inspired it, in the spirit of the very same clarity it gave me. A clarity I have committed to ever since then, every time I am asked to describe what the Second Resurrection means for us all. So that anyone who reads the Manifesto for themselves can get a sense of what exactly it is we are dealing with here; the seriousness with which we must approach the new reality we all share. We ought to rejoice! What other reaction is sensible in the wake of an event such as this? A true, dyed-in-the-wool man of the people, a cultural hero beyond compare, chosen by the One Above All and raised from the dead. The wounds on his body closing no more quickly than they would on any man as a sign of divine imagination. Yes, he was our Messiah returned. But he was also one of us. He bled and healed like us. But he did not die like us. He did not pass on the way we were told that we would. King Malcolm triumphed over death, and in doing so modeled for oppressed peoples all over the world what can happen when one is willing to give their life over to the cause of collective revolt against the forces of capitalism and global white supremacy. You may already know where I'm going with this. My message for the past several decades hasn't moved all that much. There are battles to win in the name of human freedom, human dignity, and we will win them. We have on our side a man who dueled with death, and won, and came back that we might have heaven here on Earth. No pie in the sky. No paradise later and famine where you stand. No diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, pneumonia, lung cancer, PTSD, while you work your 9-5 for a man who doesn't know your name, or that of the woman you love, and then you die. pg. 68 The last third of the book is about Bennett's son being born. It's touching. moment. It's Thursday. In the spot where I'm writing I'm thinking about the worst things anyone ever said to me or your uncles, Grandpa, for no reason other than meanings they map the moment we enter the frame. No prelude. No conflict or probable cause. And I actually, openly, weep, son. In front of Mom. I don't want people to treat him like that, I say, entirely in earnest, as if I am the first person to have the idea. There is nothing I would not do to shield you. My trepidation is nothing if not an introduction to a new and previously unthinkable vision of myself. A starship destroyer in orbit; orchards atop ashes; a castle of falcons lifting you up and through the available expanse, your laughter like the arguments of angels, giving texture to the atmosphere. pg. 114 TL;DR Is this something I would re-read and quote? Probably not. But it's quite good, and Bennett makes some amazing points in here. I think poetry can beautifully encapsulate some concepts. This is in the new form, it's not rhyming (I've been told by my poetic friends that rhyming poems are considered old-fashioned and silly). Read it if you want a poetic view of Black life in America, if you think a universe in which Malcolm X was resurrected from the dead and a religious order sprung up in response to this occurrence is interesting, or if you or a loved one have recently had a Black male baby. I think his thoughts on being a parent to a Black male baby are quite accurate and depressing. He talks a lot in this book about the short life expectancy of Black men. ...more |
Notes are private!
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Dec 23, 2022
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Dec 23, 2022
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Dec 23, 2022
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Paperback
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| 3.82
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it was ok
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May 11, 2020
not set
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Nov 18, 2023
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| 4.23
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did not like it
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Oct 15, 2023
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Oct 03, 2023
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| 3.63
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liked it
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Oct 02, 2023
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Oct 01, 2023
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| 3.53
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liked it
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Oct 2023
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Sep 28, 2023
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| 4.35
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did not like it
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Sep 24, 2023
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Sep 24, 2023
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| 4.07
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did not like it
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Jul 07, 2023
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Jul 06, 2023
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| 3.85
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liked it
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Jun 24, 2023
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Jun 22, 2023
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| 4.14
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did not like it
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Feb 08, 2023
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Feb 07, 2023
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| 3.73
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liked it
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Feb 03, 2023
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Feb 01, 2023
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| 3.89
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liked it
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Feb 02, 2023
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Feb 01, 2023
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| 3.30
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it was ok
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Jan 29, 2023
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Jan 29, 2023
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| 4.10
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it was ok
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Jan 27, 2023
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Jan 27, 2023
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| 4.33
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it was amazing
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Jan 26, 2023
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Jan 26, 2023
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| 4.32
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really liked it
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Jan 21, 2023
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Jan 20, 2023
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| 3.87
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did not like it
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Jan 17, 2023
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Jan 17, 2023
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| 3.99
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really liked it
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Jan 08, 2023
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Jan 08, 2023
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| 4.65
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liked it
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Jan 06, 2023
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Jan 06, 2023
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| 3.28
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it was ok
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Jan 05, 2023
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Jan 05, 2023
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| 3.77
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really liked it
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Jan 05, 2023
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Jan 05, 2023
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| 4.04
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really liked it
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Dec 23, 2022
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Dec 23, 2022
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