I absolutely adore this series, and I think Iris Kelly might take the top spot for my favorite of the three. All of the books are so incredibly funny,I absolutely adore this series, and I think Iris Kelly might take the top spot for my favorite of the three. All of the books are so incredibly funny, heartwarming, emotional, and alluring, but this one felt especially captivating. I love being able to revisit old beloved characters in each of these installments, as well as getting to know a new side character, in this case, Iris, as well as a whole new love interest whom I literally adored. Stevie and Iris's dynamic is quick, intense, romantic, and gorgeously written, and I greatly enjoyed being along for the ride. While I typically don't love fake-dating, I really enjoyed this one, and it was a fantastic way to wrap-up the series and the characters as a whole cast. ...more
Okay I was making fun of it at first but then I read the whole thing in 4 hours so who's really winning here (not me). While I stand by the fact that Okay I was making fun of it at first but then I read the whole thing in 4 hours so who's really winning here (not me). While I stand by the fact that absolutely no college student gives enough of a fuck about their school's athletes to pay this much attention to them, it was a pretty good book.
The plot moved quickly which made it an easy read, but it also spends enough time with its characters and plot points to make them meaningful and touching. I loved the whole cast, especially Mickey's sisters and the other players. While I do think Jaysen should've had more attention outside of his relationship with Mickey, I get that the book is pretty short and it's a lot more centered on Mickey.
That being said, I loved the way Mickey's mental health issues were depicted, and they resonated a lot. I appreciate the support system he had and the way that represented different forms of depression or conversely the things they all had in common. Overall, his character development was touching and lovely to read.
Overall, though I am making a slow shift away from YA as a genre, I don't have the same criticisms for this that I do a lot of YA novels. ...more
Okay as for what I liked about this book, it was definitely entertaining. When I actually got the chance to sit down and read it, I wasn't bored, and Okay as for what I liked about this book, it was definitely entertaining. When I actually got the chance to sit down and read it, I wasn't bored, and I got through it pretty quickly. I enjoyed the dynamics between all of the characters, especially Kris's family members, and I really loved Kris's personality as a whole. It's definitely what you sign up for as far as a romance book, but I also think there were areas it could have been improved as well.
Firstly, there were a significant number of typos, and it definitely needed to go through another round of editing. Also, the story moved crazy fast, and bounced from each plot point to plot point without letting any of them settle very much. If you're going to write a book with a six-week time limit, those weeks need to be drawn out in order for it not to feel like everything is happening instantly for no reason. The earlier weeks did get more pages and were more drawn out, however the later chapters and weeks which arguably needed more time passed very quickly.
Speaking of the time limit, the entire book is insta-love but in a weird way. Obviously the two love interests had to develop interest fast, as is the entire premise of the book, and while I just don't really love the concept in general personally, I also don't think it was written as well as it could have been. For the first few weeks, D'Vaughn and Kris were attracted to each other, but then they're suddenly confessing their love seemingly out of nowhere. It just felt like the book had a very weird pace, especially in the second half.
Along the same vein, it seems like the author had trouble balancing all the different aspects of the romance. There's a struggle between making the two women fall in love immediately, while also stretching the tension and drama through the whole book. This results in manufactured problems and miscommunication, which almost entirely come from D'Vaughn being obtuse in the face of Kris's constant and clear communication. It was just really frustrating watching them talk to each other sometimes.
Lastly, Higgins has a habit of overexplaining her own writing, and just writing things out in a very lecture-like way instead of showing the thoughts and messages through the characters and plot. Additionally, while we do get small peeks into the main characters personality, we don't see much development or real self-reflection and introspection except for a few page-long monologues which were hard to get through. Important character traits like Kris's social media, D'Vaughn's faith, and both of their jobs are introduced in the beginning, and make them interesting characters, but they're not brought up nearly at all until the end.
The book's fine for entertainment, and Higgins has a good grasp on creating interesting plot, but I do think it's technically weak. ...more
I think this book was pretty well-written, both authors' writing styles meshed really well with each other, and I absolutely loved all the characters,I think this book was pretty well-written, both authors' writing styles meshed really well with each other, and I absolutely loved all the characters, their relationships, and the way the sub-plots were balanced with the romance.
That being said, it wasn't my favorite based solely on personal preference. I'm not a big fan of the "emotional infidelity," if you could call it that, or at the very least I don't like love triangles or squares or whatever this counts as. I also didn't love how the actual romance between Molly and Alex didn't start until over halfway through the book, which made their eventual get-together seem rushed and kind of out of nowhere. I really enjoyed reading them as friends and their development in that relationship, so the really quick switch felt underdeveloped, and I don't think the story fully appreciates the friends-to-lovers dynamic that could have been happening here because of Natalie and Cora. ...more
Thank you to Netgalley and Bella Books for the eARC. 2.5 stars. I had pretty mediocre expectations for this anthology, and it met them. I liked the firThank you to Netgalley and Bella Books for the eARC. 2.5 stars. I had pretty mediocre expectations for this anthology, and it met them. I liked the first story, so I was hoping to enjoy the rest, but it kind of went downhill from there. I can appreciate what it was trying to do, but the writing was definitely lacking for many of the stories, and they didn't come together very well. The fantasy/sci-fi stories, in particular, felt out of place compared to the others, even if they were low on magical elements. A lot of them could've been improved had they been longer, they focused too much on the plot without making me care about the characters, or they introduced too many characters in too short of an amount of time that I couldn't keep track of them. Also, this is a personal thing, but I'm not a big fan of romances with established relationships so that automatically put me off some of the stories. That being said, I did like a few of them ("New at Love" by Jaime Clevenger, "Liberty" by Kate Gavin, "Grounds for Panic" by M.B. Gruel, and maybe "Out with the Old" by Tagan Shepard), so I may check out those authors' other books. ...more
Thank you to Netgalley and Forever (Central Grant Publishing) for the ARC. This book had a great premise, and I was super excited when I got approveThank you to Netgalley and Forever (Central Grant Publishing) for the ARC. This book had a great premise, and I was super excited when I got approved for an ARC, but I thought the final product fell short. It was interesting, and I guess I liked the romance. Still, everything felt so underdeveloped and messy that I couldn't get attached to the characters, story, or relationship, which is disappointing. The pacing was all over the place, and I couldn't process what was happening or care about it. Additionally, Cade might've been the only character in this book I cared about. She and Selena are the only two who we get any insight into, and Selena annoyed me. She seems like she tries to be as much of an asshole as possible, even in business, where she knows Cade has way more experience and expertise. All the side characters were highly annoying or didn't play enough of a role in the plot for me to care. As for a final thing that bothered me: Cade makes a valid comment about the store only catering to cis women, which Selena brushes off by saying, "Ruth loved everyone." Selena does end up agreeing, but it's never addressed again. This rubbed me the wrong way because of how much this book equates womanhood to one's physical characteristics, despite claiming to be sex-positive and feminist. It seems both the book and the store were only created with cis women in mind. It's a fast read and somewhat entertaining, but that's all it has going for it, in my opinion.
Thank you to Netgalley and Algonquin Young Readers for the eARC.
How to Become a Planet is emotional, heartwarming, and sweet, as it navigates Pluto'sThank you to Netgalley and Algonquin Young Readers for the eARC.
How to Become a Planet is emotional, heartwarming, and sweet, as it navigates Pluto's issues with mental health, her friendships, and her family. As always, I greatly enjoy reading queer books for younger readers, and I'm delighted that they're becoming more popular.
I don't speak for everyone, but I liked how this book handles Pluto's depression and anxiety, especially by addressing that these aren't fixable problems, nor are they things that make someone any less of a person. I also liked how it shows the effects on the other people in her life. I wish it did more to address her mother's actions, specifically the things she does that hurt Pluto; while she's having trouble dealing with Pluto's diagnosis, she's still the adult in this situation and should have taken more responsibility. Additionally, Pluto's tutor outed her to her mom, and that just got pushed to the side, which is in no way okay. She should not have betrayed Pluto's trust in that way, and I don't particularly appreciate how easily it was forgiven and forgotten about. This last critique is a small thing, but I thought it was odd and a little inaccurate how the adults in this book treated middle schoolers like they were significantly younger.
I gave this book 3.5 stars; I thought it was mostly well written, and I would definitely recommend it to younger readers.
Major content warnings for panic attacks, depression, being outed....more
Don't you just love it when a book lives up to the hype? I read this in one sitting, and never got bored once, because it was just so fabulous. The wrDon't you just love it when a book lives up to the hype? I read this in one sitting, and never got bored once, because it was just so fabulous. The writing, the characters, the romance, the pacing, all get five stars. I'm absolutely going to be picking up Kelly Quindlen's other books now. I'm not even a romcom person! This book had tropes that I usually hate, like fate dating and public declarations of love, and even those I enjoyed. Objectively I know there are parts I didn't like as much, but those pale so much in comparison to the good parts that I completely forget about them. I loved it so much I don't even know how to write this review. Just read it!
TWs: past toxic relationship, homophobia, underage drinking...more
Thank you to Netgalley and Dreamscape Media for the audio arc.
Middletown is a complex book that deals with a lot of topics, including alcoholism, sexThank you to Netgalley and Dreamscape Media for the audio arc.
Middletown is a complex book that deals with a lot of topics, including alcoholism, sexual harassment, sibling relationships, queerness, gender identity, and navigating life with a lot of odds stacked against you. The main character, Eli, is gay, maybe not quite a girl, and in love with her best friend. Her sister, Anna, has had to raise Eli for a lot of her life, as their fathers are absent and their mom is an alcoholic. When their mother gets sent to rehab, the sisters try everything to stay out of foster care, and stay together.
It’s not the main focus of the book, but I thought the romance was really cute, and surprisingly realistic, which I thought was a nice touch. Eli is a really interesting character, with all the melodrama and sass one would expect from a middle school student. Her relationship with Anna, which is one of the main focuses of the book, is incredibly done, and made me quite emotional.
I didn’t love how much of a stereotype Javi is, as the flamboyant gay best friend to the popular girl, and I also thought Anna made a lot of jokes and comments about Eli being gay that were out of place coming from a cishet character, so I didn’t love those aspects of the book. I also didn’t really like how the book deals with the issue of sexual harassment, as it gets kinda brushed aside. Obviously this is a middle grade book and thus won’t go super deep into issues like sexual assault and sexual harassment, but I still think it warranted more attention. Additionally, Eli starts the book by shaming Anna for having visible boobs? What was the purpose?
Overall, while I didn’t love the book, I flew through it, it’s interesting, I liked most of the characters, the relationships between Eli and her family members were really well written, and I hope this book can become a favorite of some young readers.
TWs: alcoholism, homophobia, sexual harassment, minor warning for death of a parent. ...more
This book is lovely! It has so many different components, characters, and relationships but they’re all balanced really well. Yami’s relationship withThis book is lovely! It has so many different components, characters, and relationships but they’re all balanced really well. Yami’s relationship with her parents and brother are both heartwarming and heartbreaking, and you find yourself really rooting for her the entire time. The romance was fine, nothing revolutionary, but overall the story is sweet and impactful and very moving....more
Thank you to Netgalley and Bold Strokes Books for the arc.
You Again is a sappy, fun, sapphic romcom about high school sweethearts coming back togetherThank you to Netgalley and Bold Strokes Books for the arc.
You Again is a sappy, fun, sapphic romcom about high school sweethearts coming back together ten years after breaking up. Sutton is returning to her hometown for the first time in a decade to help her father through a double knee surgery, and has to figure out how to deal with seeing Kate after she cheated on Sutton when Sutton left for college. Kate got pregnant at this time, and has spent ten years raising her daughter Harper, while Sutton stayed in school and got a fancy job in Atlanta.
I really liked Sutton, and for the most part I liked Kate (though she sometimes annoyed me); they’re funny, charming, and have genuine chemistry. I’m not a huge fan of kids, but Harper was sweet and funny, and it’s interesting to see how she factors into the relationship. The family dynamics may have been my favorite part of the book, as it’s really refreshing to see queer people who have good, healthy relationships with their family, so that aspect of the book meant a lot to me. On a similar note, it’s nice to read queer books that aren’t focused on homophobia whatsoever, and can just exist as cute romcoms.
I really didn’t like the cheating plot line. I don’t like cheating in general, but I think it’s especially overdone in sapphic media, and I don’t think it needed to be the reason Kate and Sutton broke up. Kate could’ve easily had her daughter after breaking up with Sutton, and it wouldn’t have changed the story at all. Additionally, I didn’t understand why all the characters blamed Sutton so much for the break up when Kate was the one who cheated on her? It was just weird to me and kind of irritating. I get that neither of them regretted Kate having Harper, but that doesn’t mean it was unreasonable for Sutton to leave after her girlfriend slept with someone else.
This book is quite character heavy, and it’s pretty slow at times, so if you’re not into that or like more plot heavy books I wouldn’t recommend it, but if you like romance it’s pretty good. I may pick up more of this author’s books, who knows....more
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