On the first read, I very much enjoyed Faith, a YA about a plus-size superhero who loves animals, her two best friends, her grandma, and fictional TV show The Grove, not necessarily in that order. Unfortunately, as soon as I tried applying thought to the book, it failed to make any sense. There’s a f/f romance, but this book is the first in a planned duology, so expect an inconclusive ending, and expect minimal superheroics … Continue reading Faith: Taking Flight by Julie Murphy →
Content warning: Torture of a main character. I’m pretty sure that if I start by saying ‘genderswapped Princess Bride where the Princess rescues the stable boy’, about half of you won’t read any further in this review because you will be too busy one-clicking the book. Certainly, that was my reaction when I saw this title appear on NetGalley. And if genderswapped Princess Bride is what you are looking for in a book, you will … Continue reading The Princess Will Save You by Sarah Henning →
Huntress is a GORGEOUS book. It’s beautifully written and exciting and magical. However, romance fans should know that the ending is bittersweet, and while I can accept a bittersweet ending in fantasy (this is marketed as fantasy, not romance) it felt unfinished. I keep looking for a missing chapter, or, better yet, a sequel. Here’s the publisher’s intro to the plot: Nature is out of balance in the human world. The sun hasn’t shone in … Continue reading Huntress by Malinda Lo →
CW: racism, homophobia The first time I saw this cover, I fell in love. Then I read the blurb and knew I had to have it. Check it out: Liz Lighty has always believed she’s too black, too poor, too awkward to shine in her small, rich, prom-obsessed midwestern town. But it’s okay — Liz has a plan that will get her out of Campbell, Indiana, forever: attend the uber-elite Pennington College, play in their … Continue reading You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson →
I adored this book. But it wasn’t always an easy read. It’s a book drowning in grief and desperation, finely wrought and deeply felt, and it’s an understatement to say that at parts it was so good and so sad and so precise in its pain that I was simply made of tears. So fair warning, if your heart can’t handle a story of surviving the unexpected loss of a parent, there’s nothing wrong with … Continue reading Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo →
CW: torture including water boarding, cutting off a finger, implied sexual assault My little ears perked up when I first heard about this one. It has mermaids, witches, pirates, magic, lesbians, double agents, and a woman disguised as a man. What more could I want? I was right to be excited, because damn did it deliver that, and more. The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea (TMtW&tS) was so good that I tore through the … Continue reading The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea by Maggie Tokuda-Hall →
What I Like About You is a terrific example of how a book’s flaws can overwhelm the good parts. It has engaging writing, stellar #ownvoices rep of Jewish teens, and nuanced exploration of grief. It also enraged me enough to slam my tablet down and seethe for a good hour after I finished. My initial grade was an F but I upgraded my rating after a few days of introspection (see the above good parts). … Continue reading What I Like About You by Marisa Kanter →
Queerleaders is a romantic comedy set in a Catholic high school. Mackenzie (Mack) has always known that she is a lesbian, but she is only out to her best friend, Lila. Mack has a huge crush on a cheerleader. When Mack is outed at school and bullied by the cheerleader’s football-player boyfriend, Chad, Mack rashly declares that she can steal ALL of the football player’s girlfriends — or, at least, get them to kiss her. … Continue reading Queerleaders by M.B. Guel →
This guest review was written by Crystal Anne With An E. Crystal reads a lot, cross-stitches, and is an autism consultant by day and goes to library school by night. She is a Hufflepuff, because honey badgers don’t give a shit. Crystal Anne also reviewed Slayer, the first book in this duology. … Well, folks, guess who’s back, back again. It seemed unfair to review the first in Kiersten White’s Slayer series and not hit … Continue reading Guest Review: Chosen by Kiersten White →
Salty, Bitter Sweet is more of a coming-of-age story than a romance, although romance plays a large part. This story involves a self-absorbed and privileged narrator and is told in first-person-present-tense. It also involves food, women learning to support each other in a male-dominated field, and a multicultural group of characters. Also a dog. So . . . kind of a mixed bag. Our story revolves around Isabella Fields, an American seventeen-year old who has … Continue reading Salty, Bitter, Sweet by Mayra Cuevas →
Content warning: Lockdown situation at a high school, emotionally absent/neglectful parents. Also, the main characters are professional athletes and talk/think about food and nutrition in a way that might be triggering for people with eating disorders. The thing that happens when you follow certain romance authors on Twitter for a while is that you find yourself slowly becoming obsessed with figure skating. This is a rather disappointing obsession to have in Australia, where the ISU … Continue reading Every Reason We Shouldn’t by Sara Fujimara →
