i was sent this book free from the authors but my opinions are my own!
3.5 stars
any book inspired by the parent trap is an automatic add to my tbr, andi was sent this book free from the authors but my opinions are my own!
3.5 stars
any book inspired by the parent trap is an automatic add to my tbr, and i thought this was an original rendition. two kids with an elusive father who inspired them to become artists meet at a nyc summer camp for art prodigies and they realize they share that father and go on a mission to find him? consider me along for the ride.
other than this book having a fun, realistic, non-cringy writing style to represent teengers, this is my favorite book i've read with biracial representation. you get the unique perspective of both sides: one character who's white passing but a lot more connected to their chinese culture, and the other who looks more chinese but grows up in a white family and community having to grapple with that distance from his culture. a lot of the microaggressions these characters experienced and the growth they had to go through was emotionally tugging, and it showed so much nuance without having to outright explain it to the reader. it was just so clever to me, and i liked being in their heads and understanding their worlds.
some of the reveals in this felt anti-climactic and only skimmed the surface despite the emotional deepdive that other topics take, which felt odd. also, i found the pace slowed down in the second half. but those were really my only two comments about this book. highly recommend if you're looking for a book that revolves around art or coming of age alongside your long-lost sibling....more
what a story to live in. i'm so happy i read this!!
casey once again proves their competency at writing found family stories. every single character inwhat a story to live in. i'm so happy i read this!!
casey once again proves their competency at writing found family stories. every single character in this jumps off the page and all of their conversations feel SO real. i'm not one for a mystery element in books, i'm just here for kissin', but this was a surprising page turner that had me invested in more than just the relationship.
i love that this book reads like a love letter to the lgbtqia+ community from the 20th century that helped pave the way to legalize and normalize queerness. and the backdrop of new york made me feel dying to go back. all the emotion in this was so vivid and yet so relatable with august steering the story. literally every element fell into place and i couldn't love it more.
if you've been putting this book off like i did because you thought you couldn't love anything more than casey's debut, stop it!!!! it's so, so worth it....more
I read this book as a palette cleanser between two long, dense fantasy books, and it checked that box. Thanks to the publisher for a free review copy!
I read this book as a palette cleanser between two long, dense fantasy books, and it checked that box. I thought this book was fun and easy with a great main character and representation of Brazilian culture, but it was also just cheesy and rushed and convenient. I'm not mad because it's a romance book so I didn't have the highest expectations ever, but the dialogue was often cringy (especially during sex, oof) and the male main character was too much of an unrealistic goofball given his role in the book that I just couldn't really feel attached to the characters. Still, I'm always down for a there's-only-one-bed trope and some enemies to lovers, even if this one was a bit more bland than I was expecting because it was so short....more
Thanks Mia for the review copy! *Disclaimer: the author and I are friends, but thoughts are my own.
I loved this book as a commentary on being bigenderThanks Mia for the review copy! *Disclaimer: the author and I are friends, but thoughts are my own.
I loved this book as a commentary on being bigender, recovering from sexual assault, and pointing out the hypocrisy in some church leadership. But in the end, I think it attempted to confront a topic far too massive to fit within a 250-page book.
I loved Alexis/Aleks's voice, and I especially thought their relationship with their mom and dad was sweet. It's nice to read a book that isn't really a coming-out story, so to see the main character so sure in themself was nice. I wish this focused more on their internal recovery rather than trying to solve other people's problems, because the book was quickly drowned in too much action in a short span of time.
It's difficult to frame all my thoughts in a short review, but the best way I can describe it is that it just didn't feel realistic. The book went by so fast that it was difficult to feel anchored to the characters. I don't know how to wrap up this review other than saying everything wrapped up as expected, which was entirely convenient and undercooked, but still had a good message. I wish I'd liked this book more, but it just felt like a lot of inner monologue and rhetorical questions of the main character trying to figure out who is a good christian and who is a bad christian, when really they should have been focusing on themself....more
I remain convinced that this is one of the best and most underrated YA series of all time. What thiOriginal rating: ★★★☆☆ Reread rating: ★★★★★
June 2022
I remain convinced that this is one of the best and most underrated YA series of all time. What this first book lacks in speed and depth, the rest of the series make up for it twofold. I was weeping while rereading this just from the sheer fact of knowing how it ends, so all the foreshadowing and flashbacks were that much more impactful. I can see why I rated it 3 stars the first time around because it keeps you in the dark on some things that end up being very significant, but over the course of the series I grew to love these characters so much and now any subsequent rereads are going to be 5 stars, no matter what. I LOVE LOVE LOVE this series.
March 2020
Thanks Sourcebooks for the review copy!
3.5 stars
During the first half of this book, I was convinced I would give it 4.5 stars. I was really liking it, and my vlog footage matched that same excitement. but the last 100 pages of this book lost so much steam, it's like the author got tired of writing it and just flung her characters into situations without thinking whether it's realistic or explained enough.
The main character Eliana reminds me so much of Lou from Serpent & Dove. She lives just to survive, so she'll switch to any alliance or do whatever's necessary to protect her friends and family. This made her interesting.... but also seemed a little like a Celaena wannabe at times. Still, I liked her banter with the Wolf and I thought she was smart--again, excluding the final 100 pages.
The biggest disappointment here for me was how the plot points didn't really fall into place. This book was trying to be an assassin book, an elemental magic book, (view spoiler)[a time travel book, (hide spoiler)] and an angel book all at once, and it just got confusing and underexplained. The plot point about angels should have been cut, in my opinion.
Also I'm a little upset about the rushed romance--or not even romance, but just how the Wolf went from being a great stoic character to randomly a smitten jokester. His development was so lazy and I didn't understand the shift from "you're terrible i hate you" to "i would bow on my knees to you, my life is dedicated toward you."
So many small pieces of this didn't fall into place for me, so I'm gonna try out book two and see if it solidifies anything. But I did like that this book was a dual POV and had a really steamy scene for it being a YA book....more
I was originally loving this book from the first 100 pages. It actually mirrors my life really similarly, and I was enjoying seeinDNF at 150ish pages
I was originally loving this book from the first 100 pages. It actually mirrors my life really similarly, and I was enjoying seeing a main character whose shoes I could step into so fittingly. From her workplace situation to her state of mind, I really embraced the way she navigated conflict and I was excited to see where this was headed.
However, this book took a steep downhill when the romance began. I didn’t mind the love interest—in fact, I only wish I’d read on so that I could learn more about him. The main character just becomes intolerable around him because she starts to completely contradict herself. Whereas she is typically super disgusted by the men at her job who judge her and are bossy and comment on her appearance/body, it’s somehow miraculously okay when Tate does it. The pacing of enemies to lovers was ruined by instalove and the main character’s attraction to Tate overpowering her “badass” vibes she tries to have at the office.
Also, the plot of this book becomes unbearingly unrealistic. The main character falls and hits her head and gets a minor concussion, then the hospital wants to keep her overnight for that? There were just a lot of small bits of plot in this that don’t make sense and could have been edited out in the first draft, but somehow I was expected to suspend my disbelief.
It probably wouldn’t have hurt me to finish this, but I just wasn’t enjoying it and wasn’t interested in how it ended because the writing and characters became so cheesy and hard to believe in....more
When I went into this book, I was crossing my fingers that the execution of it and the writing style matched how great the synopsis was. I'm 4.5 stars
When I went into this book, I was crossing my fingers that the execution of it and the writing style matched how great the synopsis was. I'm so glad the book held up to how good it sounds, and it's definitely a memorable romance I'll be recommending!
My primary concern about this book was that since it's about a married couple with kids, I wouldn't be able to relate to it or enjoy it since they're several years ahead of me on the maturity scale. Attached to that, I was hoping this wouldn't become a women's fiction book about fixing a marriage with no steamy scenes. Quickly, both of my fears became obsolete. The fact that this book follows characters who are already in a relationship makes it so much more real. Rather than two characters living out a dolled up romance, this is about a relationship that's dead and both characters having to fight to reanimate it. It's different than anything I've ever read and was so interesting and realistic and human. In addition, the scenes of Gavin and Thea interacting with their kids were SO wholesome.
I jokingly told my friend while I was reading this that it reads like what a Nicholas Sparks book would be if Nicholas Sparks books were actually good. It talks about family issues--both in their current relationship and in their childhood trauma--while also being a cuddly romance about two adults rediscovering each other through honesty. This book was SO soft because Gavin was making an effort to be attentive to Thea's needs and insecurities, and watching them reblossom to one another was so heart warming and emotional.
The writing of this book is spectacular in all areas except one. I loved when the author would delve into the character's backstories and they way she wrote their dialogue and all the humor that was folded into the Bromance Book Club. I especially loved how this book was a mix of real-time action with scenes interspersed from the regency romance book the men were reading. The reason I took off .5 stars, however, was there were moments in this book where the characters would randomly get on a soapbox about feminism that didn't match the context of the conversation at all. There were seriously some paragraphs that read like an essay for a women and gender studies class rather than a romance book because it wasn't subtle at all. The men in the book club are self-aware about feminism and toxic masculinity, which is good, but it wasn't subtle at all and ended up sounding like fan service to other women reading the book because those random feminism rants didn't sound authentic to the men's voices at all. But a part of the book I did like is that Thea, the wife, was strident in her independence and her feminism, which I enjoyed way more than when the characters went off on tangents about the male gaze and the patriarchy.
But overall, this book was so addicting and enjoyable. It was quick and sweet but also the perfect amounts of meaningful and realistic. I love any romance book that takes the shininess away from relationships and delves into real human lives, and this book definitely fits that category. I can't wait to pick up a copy when it comes out!...more
Thanks to Gallery Books for an advanced review copy!
I'll be honest, whereas I was highly anticipating Christina Lauren's previous releases like The UThanks to Gallery Books for an advanced review copy!
I'll be honest, whereas I was highly anticipating Christina Lauren's previous releases like The Unhoneymooners and Josh & Hazel, my excitement for this one was pretty low. Turns out, my hesitation had no grounds because I actually thought this was beautiful, soft, and had a lot of heart.
I like that this book was told in a then-and-now format, but those sections are entirely separate rather than frequently jumping back and forth. It was almost like two stories in one where you got to see their relationship develop at each stage in their life, both written exceptionally well. I did prefer the first half of the novel just because it had a Just One Day vibe (and also I'm not a huge fan of books about the film industry, so the second half lost me a little). But the two halves flowed seamlessly and played off of one another.
Even so, I feel like this book had an opportunity to be more than a second chance romance. The scope of it is HUGE with so many littler side plots, and I could see this book being so much more substantial if the authors hadn't only focused on the scenes where the two main characters were on page together. I know the authors intended to write this as a romance so I shouldn't be judging it as a different genre, but this book's conflict felt so surface level and basic compared to where I feel like this story could have gone in exploring character relationships deeper than just the main character and the love interest. It doesn't help that this book ended abruptly as soon as the relationship was sorted out and I wish we could have had some closure with the book's characters/plot lines other than the main relationship.
This book is different from other Christina Lauren books in a way that I can't pinpoint, and in a way I also can't say if I like better or worse. It was enjoyable to read and CL's writing continues to evolve and grow more and more beautiful, but I didn't feel super attached to the main character. It's difficult for me to sum up this review in only a few paragraphs because I have a lot of little things to say about it. It was sweet, just not my favorite of theirs....more
This isn't bad, it just wasn't what I was hoping for (I wanted romance; this is more literary fiction) and I don't want to finish it only bDNF at 46%.
This isn't bad, it just wasn't what I was hoping for (I wanted romance; this is more literary fiction) and I don't want to finish it only because I feel obligated to review it for Netgalley. I know it'll only be a three star book, and a quite forgettable one at that....more
Oh, boy. Where do I start? Perhaps in thanking the publisher for sending me a free review copy, but it only goes downhill from there.
Apparently in 20Oh, boy. Where do I start? Perhaps in thanking the publisher for sending me a free review copy, but it only goes downhill from there.
Apparently in 2019, we’re taking manipulative scam artists and making it into a rom-com. This book's premise was promising: after seeing her ex got engaged, Eliza accidentally posts a fake engagement announcement to the Instagram account she controls as the CEO/founder of her own jewelry store, but then the post ends up inspiring a lot of business at a time when she desperately needs it, so she wants to find a fake boyfriend to continue the farce and be able to make rent. Charming, right? Not at all. The way the author executed this was TERRIBLE because the main character exploited her accident so much that she was manipulative and scamming, all while being praised by her peers and never being discovered. This review will contain minor spoilers.
Beause its' a romance book, I'll address the glaring problem first: the relationships in this book were just pure horseshit. There's a 2012 era love triangle, which I thought was absurd and unneeded and just dumb. The first man she begins to date because she sees him as a potential fake groom is Blake, and I just feel SO bad for this dude. He did NOT get the justice he deserved in this book for being mistreated so badly. First of all, their chemistry was so lacking. She seemed to feel more for her ex than she did for Blake, even while sleeping with him. (view spoiler)[When Blake eventually learns that she was only with him so that she could be Instagram famous, Eliza claims that she was genuinely falling in love with him and still wanted to do the wedding, which was just complete bullshit. That she tried to convince him they were in love--MULTIPLE TIMES--despite feeling the opposite was just bologna and hurtful. Fuck Eliza, seriously. Blake deserved so much better. (hide spoiler)] Simultaneously, Eliza meets Raj, who is a bartender across the street from her whom she immediately lets in on her secret, and over the course of the book, he develops feelings for her, yada yada yada. All you need to care about is that he knew about her plan since day one and was, stupidly and unforgivably, supportive.
A big gripe I have is that the entire premise of this book is implausible, and even a basic editor should have seen red flags at some of the things the author was trying to sell to the reader:
- Eliza's Instagram that she posts the fake announcement on is an account that is both for business and for her personal life. Like, she follows her ex on that account. It seems so unprofessional. - She is offered a free wedding and a wedding dress almost immediately in exchange for promotion. - All of this happens when she has 100k or less. - When Eliza tells Raj about the fake wedding, Raj thinks it’s a great plan and compliments her for “having balls.” Soo... am I the only one who finds her REALLY shitty??? - Everyone she tells about her plan, including her sister/business parter, best friend, and family, is on her side and sympathizes with her
The main reason why I could not stand Eliza as a narrator is because she didn't just let things unfold naturally and take an accident to her advantage before her Instagram traffic slowed down. No, she purposefully sought out people to give her attention, strung along a man without telling him in order to keep up the farce, and generally should just be thrown in jail because of how corrupt, heartless, and manipulative she is. I stopped rooting for her by page 50 and was actually hoping she would be discovered and shunned because her messy lies weren't cute or quirky at all. There's so many scenes where she acts like a piece of shit that I took notes every time she digs herself deeper into being a scam artist who's only greedy for more followers and sales at the risk of hurting others:
- Eliza REQUESTS an interview with Elle magazine on her fake engagement (future whitney here to say that it goes FAR beyond this. In her desperation, she requests SO much free shit like photographers, a cake, a spot on a reality tv show, a new york times article about her wedding, youtube vlog spotlight, a podcast episode, AND A FREE HONEYMOON. At this point it's not even being a businesswoman, it's taking advantage of people. She deserves to go on one of those pages shaming influencers for emailing companies to try and get free shit.) - Every time mainstream news breaks about her fake engagement, she reposts it to all her social media, including personal accounts, making all of her friends and family believe she's actually engaged - She accepts a fake wedding without telling Blake - She uses Blake to post pictures of their newly-budding relationship without his consent, all while sleeping with him, in order to still be able to show Instagram that she actually has a man - She makes her coworker lie and say that she doesn't run the account to keep up her lies with Blake longer just in case he were to ask - Eliza is constantly framing her life for more attention; instead of appreciating little moments, she stops to take a pic for Instagram; she poses for photos with ppl bc they have a huge following and she wants clout - This is the worst and most hurtful one. She lies and tells Blake she is in love with him just to create an excuse to leave an event where people are beginning to recognize her and question her engagement. At this point, it’s a fake dating trope, but the guy isn’t in on it. It just reads like a middle school prank where she’s pretending to ask him out when she clearly doesn't care about hurting him. - She lied to her parents that she loves him and is happy to get married to him when clearly she feels lukewarm about him - Even her sister she runs the jewelry shop with wants her to fake marry because she wants the money. Both business owners are so phony; their business deserves to fail if the only way they can think to make money is to lie and cheat - Eliza eventually apologizes to Blake for lying to him, but still asks for him to participate in the fake wedding. It basically cancels out that she would feel sorry at all if she still wants to use him. - The guy (both of them!!!) end up being okay with the wedding too, so now they’re BOTH scam artists. Like WHAT!!!! - She and her entire family have the audacity to be proud of her for having the business to succeed after she literally used companies for THOUSANDS of dollars to use their services for free, when really she wasn't even getting legally married and only did it for attention.
If you can suspend your disbelief, this book might read as a fun escapade as a woman who got herself into trouble and keeps digging herself deeper. The reasons I gave this 1 star rather than none are meager: first, it was really addicting; and second, the subplot about women supporting women as business owners was really sweet. Otherwise, I found it to be totally contrived and unrealistic, and the main character deserved all some kind of hardship that came upon her due to her lies and greed, but she was never punished for her actions other than Blake being mad at her. Eliza is TERRIBLY selfish and greedy with no redeeming qualities. She truly behaves like a young teenager who cannot comprehend that her actions have consequences. I cannot believe she exploited so many people just to get sales, then was actually proud of herself, and none of the people who were in on it shut her down.
This book could potentially work better as literary fiction with a purposefully unlikable main character, but it was just impossible to root for her in a romance setting. She was awful, and the author just kept trying to sell it to the reader as a trait that could be redeemable. At the end of the day, this is not a romance book. It's a book about a woman who is obsessed with her job and would do anything--including lying and stealing--to keep it afloat. I don't know why this is being sold as romance because Eliza clearly is only with men because she has an agenda for followers and sales.
The twist of the knife was that this book ends by her and her love interest going on a free honeymoon in Europe, signifying that they will never come clean about their lies and feel no guilt in using other people and companies, as long as they're having fun and their followers are rising. This book has a disgusting moral and despicable characters, and the author tries to package it in a way that makes them seem human and relatable when really they're just awful. I highly recommend skipping this one, and now I'm leaning toward unhauling her first book because this one was so weak and inspired so much hate. ...more
There's nothing wrong with this book; it's sassy and brooding and cute, but I found it to be worryingly average, and on top of that, 100% of it is 35%
There's nothing wrong with this book; it's sassy and brooding and cute, but I found it to be worryingly average, and on top of that, 100% of it is focused on the main characters' jobs. This is a sensitive year for me to be reading workplace romances, and for this book to have absolutely no reprieve from the everyday grind that is these characters' hard job, I found it laborious to read because there were no fun or cute scenes to chop up the down-to-business gritty scenes that were often difficult to read because of political jargon. I did like the narrator though and I could sense an angsty love story brooding, so I might pick this back up and finish it. ...more
Thank you to Bloomsbury for the advanced review copy!
This is so different from book one that I'm so interested to see how everyone is going to react. Thank you to Bloomsbury for the advanced review copy!
This is so different from book one that I'm so interested to see how everyone is going to react. The first 200 pages of this were very dry and political, and I couldn't quite make sense of what was happening. It felt like the escalating drama could be solved with better communication, so I was frustrated why the author was dragging out so much hardship. In the last half, however, pieces started falling in place and the plot picked up.
I really LOVE Grey. He reminds me of Geralt from The Witcher because he's very stoic and contained but sharp and tactful when he needs to be. That combination of gentleness and wanting to do what's right mixed with absolute lethal power is so intriguing to me, so I liked it when the story focused on his development. Also, the new characters in this book were so much fun to read about. I love Lia Mara and Tycho, and even side characters from book one like Noah and Jake grew on me.
The one thing I can't figure out about this is (view spoiler)[how the characters we loved in book one are becoming villainized. It's definitely an interesting take to see these characters pitted against one another, especially after learning more about them and the ways they hold each other's lives at stake. But actions Rhen took in this book and the way he spoke to Grey just made him completely irredeemable for me, and I almost consider the Cursebreakers series about Grey rather than Rhen at this point. (hide spoiler)]
While I was reading this book, I couldn't shake the feeling that although I was enjoying it, I don't think I would continue with a third book. The ending of this changed my mind, though. Also I'm a bit confused and upset about the way the characters are behaving, I do really want to know how this is going to end, because I don't foresee it being pretty....more
This book reminded me of 99 Percent Mine in the worst way possible. The writing and main character were soThanks to the publisher for the review copy!
This book reminded me of 99 Percent Mine in the worst way possible. The writing and main character were so performatively "quirky" and jumps from thought to thought without any cohesive web that it was hard to read. It quickly became nonsensical--and worse, cringy, because the main character thought she was a lot more funny and clever than she actually is.
My issue with this book is I hated both characters. I know you're supposed to realize that both of them are wrong and need to work on their issues, but I couldn't shake the feeling that I wish they just would've broken up. They were so mean to each other that it made this hard to read, which has me concerned that it's ruined the enemies to lovers trope for me. Everything the characters di made no sense, especially the love interest. You don't get his POV, so from one second he'll go from insulting her and saying he never should've proposed, then the next he's buying her a house? The plot doesn't connect together with any glue. The characters never behave how you think they will, but instead of that making them interesting, it just makes this book unrealistic and laborious to try and read and relate to. ...more
Thanks to the publisher for an advanced review copy!
This cover and the fact that this book is f/f gave me major Nina Lacour vibes, so I’m sad2.5 stars
Thanks to the publisher for an advanced review copy!
This cover and the fact that this book is f/f gave me major Nina Lacour vibes, so I’m sad I didn’t enjoy this as much as I wish I would’ve. I’ll be first to admit that I’m not hugely well versed on Greek mythology, so I had to Google the myth of Orpheus and go from there. The character guide in the back was also really helpful to see how the story correlated to the myth. But other than having a cool plot structure and a strong bond between the two main characters, this book left a lot to be desired.
For starters, it’s barely even 175 pages for an entire book about coming out, going to conversion therapy camp, falling in love, and more. Even though the size of this book was a huge inspiration in my motivation to read it, this book did itself a major disservice by rushing through a lot of the plot. Furthermore, a lot of the elements were really convenient and cookie cutter, and I never felt shocked or touched by what was happening because it all occurred so quickly. It almost feels like this is a book someone wrote for Nanowrimo where they rushed through everything just to get a complete story in 50,000 words, but it reads like a first draft where the author still has to go back in and add a lot of detail and plot description.
Other than that, there’s not a lot to be said. Again, I liked the characters and the conflict and the setting of small town Texas (side note: I think this book is set in the 90s? It very much had that vibe and I loved it). The writing did have some lovely lines toward the beginning, but once this book picked up speed, it just progressed very mechanically with no character development and several elements thrown in as shock value without a lot of substance. I’m sure this book will be meaningful to some people, but it lacked enough spark to make me connect to it and I thought it was somewhat unrealistically and conveniently resolved, as much as I was cheering the girls on....more
This book was charming and a fresh perspective from a diverse cast. I loved that the love interest isThanks to Oni Press for the advanced review copy!
This book was charming and a fresh perspective from a diverse cast. I loved that the love interest is non-binary and the main character wears hearing aids, and all were discussed so naturally. This is definitely a great book to come out in October because the cozy and fall vibe of this book is definitely there. But although it was quick and cute, I found it to be a bit cookie cutter and generic, plot-wise. It almost reads like a middle grade because the events occur formulaically, the characters make questionable decisions that force them to suffer the consequences, and there is a bit of instalove. I guess what I was wishing for was more emotional depth to the characters. Still, I enjoyed my reading experience despite the ARC I read being unfinished (half the art wasn't colored in), so I'm sure the final version will be stunning and this book will be a lot of people's jam....more
This book struck the perfect balance between feel-good and meaningful. At the same time that there were imThanks to Avon for the advanced review copy!
This book struck the perfect balance between feel-good and meaningful. At the same time that there were important discussions about chronic pain and abusive relationships, it was also so damn cute and fun and lighthearted. I loved Chloe and Red's banter and the way that they supported one another, and this book was so addicting that I read it practically in two sittings--which is rare for me nowadays. It definitely held up to my expectations.
The one problem I encountered with this book is a personal preference and not even entirely a criticism, but sometimes the dialogue in this felt a bit too sickly sweet and Lifetime movie-esque. If that's your thing, then you will love this book. But sometimes I found myself glossing over long paragraphs of I-love-you-monologues because it felt a bit generic. Tangentially related to this is that sometimes the characters spoke like they're from a YA novel, which isn't a dunk on teens, but rather I wish that silliness and sarcasm could have been backed up by some maturity. I only noticed this in the dialogue, though, so I really enjoyed the writing style otherwise and tabbed quite a few parts.
If you're looking for a book that's cute and wholesome but also delves into grittier topics like chronic illnesses and recovering from abuse, I definitely still recommend this one. It has so many great themes and the characters are so supportive of one another, and I applaud the author for tackling certain subjects like the importance of therapy in a story that's also cuddly and easy to read. ...more
This book felt like peering into someone's art journal it was so gorgeous. I loved the themes in it and I thought it was the perfect mix of melancholyThis book felt like peering into someone's art journal it was so gorgeous. I loved the themes in it and I thought it was the perfect mix of melancholy yet helpful. I hope this book is the next milk & honey and i can't wait to buy a physical copy...more
Katie O'Neill can do no wrong. This book was so stinking cute from the art style to the positivity toThanks to Oni Press for the advanced review copy!
Katie O'Neill can do no wrong. This book was so stinking cute from the art style to the positivity to the inclusivity and the dragons. I think I enjoyed it better than book one. This world is so magical and transporting and uplifting, and I love how people of different genders and sexualities and disabilities are seamlessly folded in. There were certain panels in this book that spoke to me so much as an adult even though this is written for children, it's that good. I highly recommend this for any age range, and if you at all enjoyed the first book, I think this companion would highly interest you....more
I'll be first to admit that I never read horror, nor do I have the interest, but I wanted to give Stephen Chbosky a try just because he was an iconic I'll be first to admit that I never read horror, nor do I have the interest, but I wanted to give Stephen Chbosky a try just because he was an iconic author of my teenage years. But this..... wasn't it. Even from the objective perspective of someone not into horror, especially paranormal/fantastical horror, this was a longwinded mess.
This book started out strong to trick you to read on, but the ending was catastrophically terrible. The first 25% is basically what the synopsis describes, and then afterward, the story truly begins. Let me reiterate that this book is 700 pages long and the first quarter of the book is just exposition. From 25% to 75%, this book actually had a lot of good parts. It kept me guessing, it had twists and turns, it had a few creepy partys. But then the ending just became overwritten, incomprehensible plot divided between two worlds and between a cast of 10 characters. The writing was average at best throughout the book, but the end of the book just became totally ridiculous with all the characters screaming LIKE THIS!!!! at each other multiple times a page, aNd ThE viLLaiN oF thE boOk tAlkS liKe tHis. I skim read the last 10% just in search of answers, but this book provided none. I have no idea what the conflict of the book was and why any of the villains were wreaking havoc on the world. The main plot twist at the end just made the entire situation more confusing and everything got so muddled in the end that it's making me regret spending TWO WEEKS reading this massive book only for it to be so completely a let down because the plot doesn't actually get resolved in a way that makes sense. Chbosky just kept on dragging the conflict out even though he could have ended everything 500 pages earlier, with SO much unnecessary inner monologue that dragged out the pace even more.
Maybe if you like fantastical thrillers with religious/spiritual undertones you would enjoy this more, but in my opinion, just save your time and read Stephen King or something. ...more
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