Permanent Ink had so many great things going for it.
First off we have Poe, 23 years old and with no real direction Boricuan Bookworms- Book Reviews
Permanent Ink had so many great things going for it.
First off we have Poe, 23 years old and with no real direction in his life. He lives in the basement of his dad’s house, and keeps getting picked up by the police for “vadalizing” a.k.a. grafitti. His dad is fed up with him. Enter, Jericho, 40 years old, and Poe’s dad’s best friend. Jericho gives Poe a job at his tattoo shop as his intern, but things get heated when Poe makes it clear he’s attracted to Jericho.
At first I really didn’t see how they would fall for each other. Not because of the age-gap, but because they were so vastly different from each other, and Poe seemed so… immature. However, the book is incredible in character development from both Poe and Jericho. We see Poe transform from irresponsible and aimless to dedicated and mature. While we see Jericho soften up and become a better person for both Poe and himself.
"I wanted to touch him so bad it was as if my hands had turned to iron and his skin had suddenly been magnetized. It felt like a fucking compulsion."
The romance between them was angsty at first, because of the 17 year age gap, and Jericho not wanting to hit on his best friend’s son, but you can practically feel the chemistry between them. Poe was sassy and snarky, while Jericho was defensive and stern. Poe has a daddy kink, and it was great to see the nuance with which the authors managed it. Because of Jericho being both older and Poe’s boss, we see an interesting power dynamic; I’m glad it was addressed in text.
The tattoo shop aspects were so good! I learned so much about the process of it all, but I also kind of fell in love with tattoos? I loved the process behind it, plus since Poe was learning, it felt like we were learning as well, and it was so cool to read about.
The only thing I wish I could’ve seen more of is the romance between Jericho and Poe. I wanted to see more moments of them together and why they fell for each other, other than being told the things they did. The sexy moments were all great and sexy, but I wanted to see *more*. However, I was so invested in this book and the characters, that this slight thing didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the book itself.
I am actually really excited for the next book in the series, since I loved the characters so much! Piper & Avon are an awesome writing duo, so I highly recommend you read anything they write!
[image] You can see the full Pinterest board, here :)
Mei: without; pronounced "may" You: to have; pronounced "yo"
Want is set in a near-future Taipei, where pollBoricuan Bookworms- Book Reviews
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Mei: without; pronounced "may" You: to have; pronounced "yo"
Want is set in a near-future Taipei, where pollution is extreme, and big corporations contaminate for profit. Cindy Pon’s world building is excellent and incredibly immersive. It’s easy to believe that this is what our world can become in 70 or 80 years time. We can see that this is direct criticism to today’s society; a society more concerned with profit than environmental collapse.
I’m never a big fan of sci-fi worlds, because they often seem too complex and unbelievable for me to immerse myself in. However, in Want, there’s a seamless bridge between the present and this near-future Cindy writes, each new concept or contraption explained without being overly simplified.
Our narrator is Jason Zhou, a hardened mei boy from the streets who has a particular love for butterfly knives. Zhou is loyal and determined, smart and cunning. He does whatever is needed for the mission, which was very admirable to me. I thought of him as a Slytherin, putting his goals above everything else; I loved that about him. Something else that’s amazing about Zhou? He’s a bookworm. *cheers*
Through Zhou’s mission we meet Daiyu, sole heiress to Jin Corp, the corrupt corporation that Zhou and the gang are trying to take down. With Daiyu we see that things aren’t actually black and white; that having the opulent lifestyle of a you doesn’t necessarily mean heartlessness and ignorance. Pon's writing is so nuanced in the way it explores the different types of privilege in that society, never making it seem heavy handed or insincere.
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My favorite aspect of this book by far was the group dynamics. Zhou isn’t a lone wolf, in fact he’s not even the leader of the group. Zhou, along with his friends, Lingyi, Arun, Victor, and Iris, all use their different skills and work together to take down Jin Corp. They’re all a tight-knit family, relying on each other when the rest of the world has forgotten about them. I loved that each member of the group had a deeply developed storyline which made me love each and every one of them. (My favorites are Lingyi, Iris, and Victor!)
The diversity here is wonderful, and it’s obvious that there was never any tokenization involved. Zhou and Daiyu are Taiwanese, Lingyi is Chinese and bi/pan, Iris is Asian-born (ethnicity unknown), Victor is filipino, and Arun is Indian. Lingyi and Iris are in a SUPER ADORABLE relationship, one that I actually shipped more than the main couple (oops).
The only reason I knocked a star off my rating was because of the pacing. I loved the constant pace the book was setting, where each twist and turn was leading up to something big. However, when the something big happens, the pacing suddenly speeds up so much that it felt like there was no time to process everything that was happening.
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Despite that slight issue, I still highly enjoyed this book and the way it was written. After reading Want I was left emotionally compromised and wanting to know what happened next. I immediately placed a hold on the rest of Cindy’s books because I couldn’t get enough of her writing. This is honestly one of my favorite books of the year, and I highly recommend it.
"We had wanted to change the world. This was only the beginning."
If you enjoy teens teaming up to destroy evil corporations, a bookworm boy who plays with knives, incredible group dynamics, and intricate world building, Want is the book for you. Don’t let it pass you by.
I’ll admit I’m not a big sports books person, especially if I’m not a fan of the sport itself. So, imagine my surprisBoricuan Bookworms- Book Reviews
I’ll admit I’m not a big sports books person, especially if I’m not a fan of the sport itself. So, imagine my surprise when I devoured Santino Hassell’s Illegal Contact in less than 5 hours.
What first drew me into Illegal Contact was our protagonist, Gavin. What we first find out about him is the fact that he’s hot tempered and is currently under house arrest for aggravated assault. Gavin comes off as rough around the edges and is [in]famous for his glare. He’s not afraid to speak his mind, and is seen as the team’s grump. However, we see that Gavin is actually extremely loyal and supportive of his friends. We see why he doesn’t trust easily, and slowly but surely, we fall in love with Gavin just like Noah does.
Noah is described by everyone as a hotter version of Clark Kent. I loved Noah from the first moment he appeared. He’s very dedicated to his dad, he’s a great friend, and he has big dreams to help LGBT youth. Plus, he’s snarky and sarcastic, and he never missed a beat in calling Gavin out on his attitude. Him and Gavin’s interactions always produce sparks.
“The warmth in my chest and butterflies in my gut made it plain as day that my miserable ass really fucking liked him. In the hand-holding kind of way, not just the ass-pounding way. Although I wanted to do that too.”
THE ROMANCE IN THIS BOOK IS ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING. They get off on the wrong foot when they meet, and things only get more interesting after that. Just imagine what it’s like for them to be together every second of every day….
What I loved about their romance is that when they finally get together, they turn SO SOFT. Gavin turns into an absolute mush ball who loves kissing, and Noah just wants to protect Gavin from the world. It’s really so incredibly cute. Not to mention that Santino writes such amazing SMUT that I’m left speechless at how he can write a simultaneously hot and sweet scene all at once.
Surprisingly enough, I also loved the sports aspect! I loved the complexity behind Noah and Gavin’s relationship, because while Gavin is bisexual, he hides that part of his identity because he doesn’t know how it'll affect his career. In the book we also see that playing football is just one part of the whole thing. Off the field there are a lot of complexities that I was surprised but delighted to read.
Overall, Illegal Contact is a sexy and sweet m/m sports romance that you NEED to get on your radar. You’ll fall in love with Gavin and Noah and absolutely fall in love with Santino Hassell’s writing. After finishing, you’ll want to read every other thing he’s written.
I can’t wait to read the next book in this series, Down by Contact. It’s about Simeon, one of Gavin’s teammates and friends, who’s a gay PoC. It’s enemies to lovers, and it promises a love interest from a rival football team that I’m almost sure must be a PoC as well. 2018 can't come any faster.
A review copy of this book was provided by the publisher via Netgalley
Initial Thoughts:
I picked it up this morning with the intention of only reading a chapter or two before I went to study. 4 hours later and I have finished the book and now I'm in a puddle of my own tears because OH??? MY???? GOOODNESS?????
LISTEN hate to love is my favorite trope and it was SO WELL executed here. Gavin and Noah bicker so much but the tension???? GOD.
I also fell so HARD for these boys and their personal struggles and !!!! I loved this book so much.
More coherent thoughts soon.
A review copy of this title was provided by the publisher via Netgalley....more
What initially drew me in to Noteworthy was that it was being called “Pitch Perfect meets She’s the Man”. The fact thBoricuan Bookworms- Book Reviews
What initially drew me in to Noteworthy was that it was being called “Pitch Perfect meets She’s the Man”. The fact that it also had a bisexual Chinese American MC? Color me intrigued.
Jordan Mingyan Sun is our protagonist, and her narrative voice is sarcastic and refreshing. She says her mouth had a mind of its own, and we could see that from the very beginning. There were a lot of sassy and comical moments that happened directly because of Jordan’s lack of impulse control. I really liked Jordan, because I could understand her deep seated insecurities and fears in a way. Her situation is also very relatable to me, because she wasn’t the typical middle class straight white MC I’m used to seeing in YA. We see how different Jordan is from the rest of her classmates in regards to race, sexuality, and economic situations. Jordan herself talks about these disparities in a way that rang true to me.
This book is very character driven. We meet The Sharpshooters, this group of 7 guys who all have different backgrounds and personalities. They were all developed exceptionally well, and I can see myself reading companion books or novellas about them because I felt like they all in their own ways stole the spotlight whenever they were on the page. All the character interactions in this book were so cute. I loved how Jordan slowly felt herself opening up to the group because I could really see the evolution from strangers to an almost family dynamic.
I also really liked that this was more about Jordan’s journey to figuring out who she was and what she wanted. There was very little romance and it doesn’t overshadow the plot at all, but when it was there it was really adorable.
The diversity here is also really intersectional. Jordan is bisexual and Chinese, but there’s also Japanese, queer, Sikh, Indian, learning disabilities, and underrepresented body type representation in the book.
I want to make it very clear that while Jordan cross-dresses and poses as a boy to get into the acapella group, she definitely is not genderqueer or non-binary. Jordan throughout the book questions her decision to cross-dress and why she enjoyed her “male” side more than her actual self.
“What did it say that I’d gotten so addicted to my male disguise? If girlhood felt frustrating, and boyhood felt freeing, did that say more about girlhood, boyhood, or me?”
However I did find a couple of problematic things about this book. Jordan’s decision to crossdress as a cis girl, is deeply problematic, because at the end of the day she’s appropriating trans struggles without the risk that actual trans people face. There’s a scene were Jordan’s berating herself for this very thing, and she mentions how bad she feels, which I appreciated. However, there’s also the issue that there weren’t any trans characters in the book at all, which seemed like a wasted opportunity where there could have been nuanced discussion about why Jordan’s actions were wrong. Another thing that irked me about this book was this particular scene where one of the members of the Sharpshooters thinks Julian (as Jordan’s known to the boys) is gay, and then proceeds to tell the whole group. While Jordan isn’t a gay boy, it was still too close to having a character outed for my taste.
I also think the book suffered a bit in terms of pacing. It took me a while to really invest in the story because I felt like I was waiting for something to happen. I wanted to see more of Jordan switching between being Julian and herself. I wanted to see more of how she managed to fool everyone while still staying true to herself. I also wanted the ending to be more developed. The whole book is pretty slow burn and introspective, but the ending felt a bit rushed for my taste.
(If you want to know more about the problematic trans rep, here's an own voices review that talks more about the issues)
Overall, I really did enjoy the book. There were a lot of cute and adorable moments with the whole cast, as well as honest discussions about poverty, femininity, misogyny, and more. However, had there been better pacing and more nuanced gender discussions, the book would have been much better.
A review copy of this book was provided by the publisher via Netgalley.
“We’re not Grace Glasser or Eva Brighton. Just Grace and Eva. Two girls who need to feel young and free, need to feel like girls. Need to scream from the top of a lighthouse and eat peanut butter out of a jar and swear and accidentally brush up against each other and giggle about it. So that’s what we do.”
In a way, this book is about mother/daughter relationships. It’s told from Grace’s POV, and from the beginning we see Grace’s complicated relationship with her mother. It’s a toxic relationship, and borderline emotionally abusive towards Grace. The way the author wrote this relationship felt so real and so raw.I could connect with Grace on a deeply personal level in a way, because I’ve been raised by a single mother. I understood Grace’s struggle of loving her mother but also not wanting to be responsible for her.
“… it’s so hard to say it. To confess that my own mother, the woman who gave me life and is supposed to love and cherish me above all else, forgets my age half the time.”
We could also see that Grace genuinely does love her mother Maggie, and it made my heart break for her. We could see that Maggie was unreliable, reckless, and clueless. The way the author wrote Grace and Maggie’s interactions made me ache because they were full of sadness and anger and everything in between. On the other axis we have Eva, who recently lost her mother, so she’s struggling with adapting to being without her, and going through the different stages of grief. This book explored the grief so well, and it even made us see both Grace and Eva’s situations as parallels. What was worse? Having Grace’s absentee mother, or losing Eva’s loving one? This book really made me feel in a way I wasn’t expecting.
It wasn’t difficult for me to fall in love with Grace and Eva, or to immerse myself in their story. They first connect because they can find solace in each other from their grief, but then we see them actually start to open up to each other and fall in love. I’ve seen a lot of reviews criticizing that they wished there could’ve been more development to their relationship, but I personally loved it. Their interactions are sometimes subtle and cute, but they can also turn steamy and tension-filled at any second. I liked that their relationship progressed from friends to lovers and I loved that they were always really honest with each other. Grace and Eva are a perfect match to me.
This book is also very sex positive! There’s a sex scene and they both talk to each other and there’s mutual consent and discussion of what they’re comfortable with and I really enjoyed that. It’s important to have these scenes in YA. There’s also a masturbation scene that really helps with the taboo that is female masturbation, which again, was really well handled and should be more common in YA.
Props to this book for writing the most wonderful platonic friendship! Grace and Luca are best friends, but there’s never any kind of romantic tension between them or anything. They’re really close friends, and Luca is incredibly supportive and kind. His family is even like a second family to Grace, and this was so endearing to me. I loved this aspect a lot because Grace really needed a support system, and it was Luca and his family.
I couldn’t end my review without talking about one of the most important parts. The diversity! Grace is bisexual. Grace’s bisexuality means so much to me, because you can see the nuance with which it was touched upon in the story. Everyone accepts it easily, and there’s healthy discussion about what it means to Grace. The author is bisexual as well, which I’m sure accounts for the really well developed aspect. Other than Grace there’s also Eva, who’s lesbian and biracial. The biracial rep is incredibly important and extremely well done. I highly recommend you seeking out this book if you want to see some really great bisexual or biracial representation.
Overall, HOW TO MAKE A WISH is a poignant novel about mother/daughter relationships, grief, and two girls falling in love. It has ownvoices bisexual representation; lesbian rep, and biracial rep. It’s a book close to my heart that I think more people should read.
Honestly, if you liked The Melody of You and Me, you’ll love The Paths We Choose!
"Lily had been single all her life; nothing needs to change in her opinion. Why open herself to love's disappointments and expectations when you can just live wild and free?"
This book had so many things great things going for it, and it hit all the marks.
First of all, we have Lily, our pink-haired protagonist who has been hurt by her family before and thus enjoys having complete control over her life. I loved many things about her, like the fact that Lily is headstrong and independent, but also that she’s confident and unapologetically herself. Lily knows what she deserves and isn’t afraid to ask for it.
Another thing that makes this book great is that there’s an amazing group dynamic here. Lily has roommates, and we got to see how all of them interacted with each other, which was so heartwarming. Sometimes we don’t see many good and positive female friendships, but this book had a group of girls being best friends with each other! This book reinforces the idea that family is who you choose, and I loved that Lily’s roommates were so important in this story. <3
The romance was so good! It has the “no strings attached” trope, which made seeing Lily and Mayte fall for each other all the more entertaining! I will say that I wished I could’ve seen more scenes with them falling for each other. I was left wanting more cute scenes or dates between them.
I LOVED the sex scenes in this book. The characters go through different discussions about what they like and don’t like, and there’s consent and general communication that’s sometimes lacking in NA. I LOVEEEEED this and I hope it starts being a constant in the future.
There’s a great discussion about labels and sexuality, which was handled really well in text. Not to mention, there was also a discussion about being Latinx which resonated with me as well. I love how the author always integrates different issues into her books so seamlessly.
Lillac Town feels to me like a utopian setting where girls can fall in love with each other and be happy. With The Paths We Choose, M. Hollis created a place where I wish I could live; a place where I could find true friendships and happiness. While there’s not much of a plot other than Lily’s character development and the romance, I really enjoyed this installment in the Lillac Town series. I can’t wait for the next novella.
A review copy of this book was provided by the author . ...more
I'm so glad I read this during a blackout so no one could see my tears, okay?
Loved a lot of things about this, especially the fact that most of the caI'm so glad I read this during a blackout so no one could see my tears, okay?
Loved a lot of things about this, especially the fact that most of the cast was PoC? Mateo is Puerto Rican (#ownvoices!) Rufus is Cuban-American, there's Colombian, and Black rep... I love this book with all my heart.
Also I teared up a little bit when they "visited" El Yunque National Rainforest...
What draws you in to The King of Bourbon Street from the beginning is our hero, Sol DuMont, the newly divorced, openlBoricuan Bookworms- Book Reviews
What draws you in to The King of Bourbon Street from the beginning is our hero, Sol DuMont, the newly divorced, openly bisexual 37 year-old hotel chain mogul. Sol is, for lack of a better word, a complete and cocky asshole (pardon my french). He embodies charm and power, and it's difficult not to feel like you're encountering a shark ready to strike. His voice is snarky and refreshing, and he’s easy to love. When Sol meets Arianna “Rain” Barrington, 24 year-old heiress hiding from her uber controlling mother, we find something else to love about him: the way he turns into absolute mush for her.
Admittedly, it’s not difficult to fall for Rain. She’s absolutely adorable, speaks her mind, and is a complete ray of sunshine. Rain is fat, but her portrayal is never negative. Rain’s fatness is never used as an obstacle in her relationship with Sol, and overall I think it was a great portrayal.
“His instinct was to take care of her however she needed to be taken care of.”
Her dynamics with Sol were so incredible. He was wrapped around her fingers and basically treated her like a princess. This is a Dom/sub relationship, and while Rain was new to the whole thing, Sol was always completely respectful of her and her boundaries. He constantly asks for her consent, and puts her needs before his. How Thea de Salle managed to write super sweet and super steamy scenes at the same time is a mystery to me, but she did it in every single scene. There are a lot of sex scenes in this book, some of them with power play, orgasm control, and overall LOTS OF KINK, so if that’s something you’re not comfortable with you shouldn’t read this book.
“Appreciate her, she said. That I can do. Love her? I bet I could do that, too.”
The plot itself isn’t only about sex, as it has amazing character development, and is incredibly atmospheric. We fall in love with the different side-characters as well as Sol & Rain, and by the end of the book you’ll be wanting to read books about ALL the characters.
Overall, this is erotic romance done right. We have a bisexual Dom hero + a fat adorable heiress whose romance absolutely sets the bar. There’s a lot of consent and communication between these two, not to mention really kinky sex scenes. Book 2 is about Maddy, Sol’s ex-wife, and while I haven’t posted my review yet, I’ll tell you that Thea de Salle does NOT disappoint in that book either.
"I fall to my knees. Shattered glass, melted candles and the outline of scorched feathers are all that surround me. Every single person who was in my house – my entire family — is gone."
Alex is a Bruja, but she just wants to be a normal girl. I loved Alex’s struggle because it’s so relatable to anyone. Seeing her explore her identity while at the same time trying not to disappoint her family was so real. What was especially endearing about Alex was that you could see she was flawed, and yet she still tried her best. Another thing I loved about her in the book was that we got to see her struggling with her newfound powers, and how she didn’t want to succumb to darkness. She had a struggle within herself because she wanted to be powerful but didn’t want that power to overwhelm her. Alex was definitely a well-rounded character and I loved her so so much.
It’s so unapologetically infused with Latinx culture from the very beginning, which made it easier for me to connect with the book. Alex’s family is huge, and composed of both immediate and extended family. They all have a huge influence in Alex’s personal story, and I loved seeing how her family represented Latinx families so well. I felt right at home.
I loved reading about the Deathday ceremony which was reminiscent of the Quinceañera or the Sweet 16, but with significantly more blood and ghosts. I could see elements from different Latinx cultures, with certain original twists that were great because I wasn’t sure what to expect.
Los Lagos is so amazing. It’s been called a “dark” Wonderland and it really does feel like that. Or, reminiscent of the Labyrinth in the David Bowie movie, Labyrinth. Los Lagos is colorful and beautiful, but not as it seems. Full of magical creatures, mysteries, and deception, it was really interesting to try and decipher what was real and what was a trick.
Zoraida’s writing is really great. From the tone of the book it’s easy to see it’s narrated by a teen, but it doesn’t feel too juvenile or simplistic. The descriptions and action scenes are so captivating, and easy to follow. The book itself was difficult to put down just because once a chapter ended, you just had to see what was going to happen.
I REALLY LOVED THE ROMANCE HERE. This is a slight spoiler but I honestly think it’s important to mention. Alex is bisexual (not mentioned on page, but confirmed by the author), and honestly from the beginning of the book you could see that Alex was crushing super hard on Rishi, her best friend. The way Alex described her, to the way her demeanor changed whenever Rishi was around her made it more than obvious to me that there was something going on. Rishi also says and does things that obviously screamed “these girls are in love with each other!” to me, which is why I’m so surprised that there are people that invalidate their romance. The romance is nuanced and slow burn, but at the same time SO FREAKING OBVIOUS.
As far as diversity goes, I’ve already mentioned the incredible Latinx representation here. Alex doesn’t particularly say she’s a certain ethnicity, but does mention she has Ecuadorian, Puerto Rican, and Mexican ancestry. I like that in a part of the book she talks about not feeling of a certain ethnicity because Brooklyn feels like her home, which is an issue I struggle with sometimes as well. This is the diasporic feeling many children of immigrants face, and Zoraida captured it really well. We then have Nova, who’s Puerto Rican (YESSSSS), and Rishi, who’s Guyanese (Indo-Guyanese). We also have sapphic representation from the romance between Alex and Rishi, and also with family members of Alex who are part of the LGBTQIAP+ community. The book is #ownvoices in terms of Latinx rep because the author is Ecuadorian :)
My only gripe with the book which is what made me drop a star from my writing, was that it incurred a bit in ableist language. Alex would describe things going on as “crazy” or “insane”, which, I get these words have become common adjectives, but there are better words to use. There’s also a use of the word “bipolar” to describe heterochromic eyes, that was used a couple of times in text, which seemed unnecessary.
Overall, I really recommend Labyrinth Lost. I think it’s an incredibly written fantasy book with an almost completely Latinx cast of characters, a bisexual main character, twists, turns, and magic! I can’t wait to read book two!
A review copy of this book was provided by the publisher via Netgalley.
Marianne (Boricuan Bookworms)
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