CW: child death, death, murder, blood, violence, injury description, medical content, infidelity, kidnapping, confinement Actual rating: 2.5 stars
The oCW: child death, death, murder, blood, violence, injury description, medical content, infidelity, kidnapping, confinement Actual rating: 2.5 stars
The overall plot probably merited a strong 3.5 or maybe 4 stars, but the characters had me so angry I couldn't actually enjoy the process of the story. (view spoiler)[Theresa should have dumped both their asses. The way this woman was treated as a prize left me seething. And don't even get me started on Ethan and his fuckery with Kate. Ethan might be number one on my shit list, but Adam is a close second. Frankly, I was more angry with them than with Pam or Pilcher. (hide spoiler)]
A disappointing end to a promising series that was ruined for me by characters who weren't even fun to hate. ...more
Thanks to Netgalley and Peachtree Teen CW: blood, gaslighting, emotional abuse, physical abuse, violence, bullying, kidnapping Actual rating: 1.5 stars
Thanks to Netgalley and Peachtree Teen for the eARC. I received a copy for free in exchange for an honest review. This has in no way impacted my rating.
Lila (pronounced Lee-la) has been sent away to live with her aunt after falling on stage during a ballet performance and committing an act that she believes was truly evil. Luna Island, where Aunt Laina lives, is a world of pastel Pinterest boards, French pastries, and.... A cult?
I'm going to be honest here. I love to read reviews. I love to read spoilers too, if you can believe it. RUIN the experience for me, I don't care! I will still read it and try to form my own opinions. In this case, I do have to say I'm feeling kinship with the consensus here. This book is... an experience. Let's build up to it, shall we?
Characters: Lila - I remember being a sad, sad teenager. I put a lot of pressure on myself, and sometimes I imagined pressure from places that it wasn't. But Lila's just.... so dramatic about it. All the time. Constantly. It was not... fun to read. Your prefrontal cortex isn't fully developed yet, babe. Take a breath. Give it five to seven years. Then we can circle back. I think my biggest issue with Lila is how often we were told she was convinced she was bad, she was worthless, etc. But her actions... did not show us that? I feel like so much of her personality was held up in her thoughts and her actions were just kind of..... Look at pretty dress, eat some cake, do a ballet dance. Also, she was so INSANELY chill with NOT ONLY learning about a new religion, joining in said religious practices, learning that their religion IS NOT allegorical/theoretical, but genuinely literal and active in their day-to-day lives, and THEN finding out (view spoiler)[she has special moon magic (hide spoiler)]?! I would not be that calm. But she doesn't even take five pages to process, she just mows through with it.
Laina - Idk man, I got nothing. She was like.... nothing on the page. I'm not even positive why she had a falling out with her siblings at this point, and I just read 200 pages of this book today.
Roisin - Someone said Roisin should have been the love interest and frankly I agree. She really didn't get to do anything besides be The Side Character� but at least she had, like, a reasonable character arc.
CW: blood, violence, body horror (especially involving stomachs and ears), self harm, panic attacks/disorder, mental illness, death, description of inCW: blood, violence, body horror (especially involving stomachs and ears), self harm, panic attacks/disorder, mental illness, death, description of injuries, toxic relationship/friendship, bullying, vomit, (moderate/references to) child abuse, (moderate) homophobia, (references to) outing, (references to) racism, (references to) death of a parent
I received an e-ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This has in no way impacted my final rating!
Once, Thomas, Andrew, and Dove were an inseparable trio. But something happened last semester to break that trust. Only, Andrew can't seem to remember what that SOMETHING was.
You know I'm loving a book when I'm recommending it at 33% - and that is exactly what happened with Don't Let the Forest In. I had an amazing time reading this! It's weird and creepy with just the right balance of lyrical to concrete description to make it an easy, compulsive read. The characters felt so deeply real in a very specific way - the very specific late teenage, uncomfortably obsessive queer relationship is featured so masterfully in this book, at once realistic and relatable while also being amped up to 11. And the inclusion of an asexual spectrum character is just *mwah* chef's kiss. I really ate this book up, especially in the end.
I made a Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater comparison when I first started this book, and I certainly stand by that. This has a bit more concreteness to it, though, and it's much more of a horror novel than magical realism. But I would certainly recommend this to anyone looking for a darker version of that series. And, really, to any dark academia fan who loves horror. There's some pretty gruesome stuff in this book, while still being just this edge of YA appropriate. I really loved that this book didn't pull any punches horror-wise. It really dug its teeth (pun intended) into the scary weirdness of nature-inspired horror. While I understand and appreciate the market for that, I know there's a strong subset of older teen readers who want a bit more blood and guts, and this book will certainly fill that gap!
This book makes me so incredibly excited to read more from Drews, especially their recently announced upcoming books in a similar horror vein! ...more
CW: emotional abuse, violence, sexual violence, (discussed in depth) sexual assault, rape Actual rating: 4.5 stars
The balance in this volume was SO GOOCW: emotional abuse, violence, sexual violence, (discussed in depth) sexual assault, rape Actual rating: 4.5 stars
The balance in this volume was SO GOOD. I was cackling and gasping in equal amounts. ...more
CW: blood, gore, violence, gun violence, cannibalism (view spoiler)[(kind of? is it cannibalism if it's a vampire?) (hide spoiler)], death, infidelityCW: blood, gore, violence, gun violence, cannibalism (view spoiler)[(kind of? is it cannibalism if it's a vampire?) (hide spoiler)], death, infidelity, (off-page) animal death, discussions of past sexual violence
Hmm. On one hand, I do love a good vampire road trip, but on the other, a bit of a let down after the absolutely stellar Black Sheep from earlier this year. Henry also gave some big Edward Cullen vibes for the middle 100 pages, which I feel may have been intentional.
While the cast was generally unpleasant, I do find that to be one of the charms of a Harrison novel and I have certainly come to appreciate that aspect of her writing. The sheer amount of women's wrongs there are to support in her novels should truly serve as an inspiration to us all. ...more
I received an ARC of this book for free via Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ giveaway. This has not impacted my final rating of this book. CW: sexual assault, sexual violencI received an ARC of this book for free via Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ giveaway. This has not impacted my final rating of this book. CW: sexual assault, sexual violence, racism, classism, murder, gun violence, (discussions of) death of a parent, (discussions of) slavery, (discussions of) child abuse, (discussions of) child abandonment
Actual rating: 2.5 stars
This book was such a disappointment. The premise was excellent - an unexpected inheritance, under the guardianship of someone the main character hates. But she never really hated him, as far as I could tell.
The characters individually were (mostly) a lot of fun! I loved the diversity of ethnicity and the inclusion of a gay character. But I never felt any spark between the FMC and the MMC. There was a lot of sex, but very little romance. Any time they were on page together, it felt like such a slog. ...more
I received an ARC of this book for free via Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ giveaway. This has in no way impacted my review. CW: gun violence, kidnapping, blood, (minor) abI received an ARC of this book for free via Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ giveaway. This has in no way impacted my review. CW: gun violence, kidnapping, blood, (minor) ableism
Dual author books are a double edged sword. On one hand, it's almost automatic that the characters will have distinct voices, especially when alternating narration chapters like Sounds Like a Plan does. On the other, if the reader prefers one voice over another, it can sometimes become a slog, knowing a character you don't like is up next. I was down with Mackenzie! Jackson.... not so much? I didn't like the way he thought about women, especially Mackenzie, in such sexual terms. He also made some comments about Black women in general that I personally found distasteful, but cannot necessarily speak on, not being Black. (The unfortunate part about an ARC here is that I can't quote line and page, though I do have some specific ones that I found particularly offensive.) There also was a "joke" about two characters being on the Autism spectrum, which is not the vibe.
(view spoiler)[I DID find the idea of the ultimate antagonist being just a really mean lesbian very funny lol. That is one thing I can speak on and it was NOT done delicately, but it was low key hilarious, so I'll let it slide. (hide spoiler)]
Overall, fun, not very deep, and the set up to a series. I can see this appealing to a lot of people, even if I wasn't one of them. ...more
CW: violence, injury description, death, animal abuse, blood Actual rating: more like a 3.75 but Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ won't give us partial stars lol
Both the magiCW: violence, injury description, death, animal abuse, blood Actual rating: more like a 3.75 but Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ won't give us partial stars lol
Both the magic and the danger in a retelling is always that there is another story to compare it to. While I think these interpretations of Jane and Rochester certainly do their original characters justice, the shortened timeline of the story left something to be desired. What in the original is 600 pages and over a year of back and forths in their relationship, literally, takes about six days in this book. I did really enjoy this story, but I think it could have easily stood on its own without the Jane Eyre retelling aspect. Not only were many key characters changed ((view spoiler)[Mr. Brockleherst what the HELL????? Like he's so abusive in the original and a genuinely horrible human but now he's actually her dad and just kind of mid lmao. (hide spoiler)]) but also the setting (placing the story in 1847, in the year of its original publication, when the story itself is likely set several decades earlier). ...more
CW: gore, blood, death, medical content, (discussion of) child death, (discussion of) shooting in a school
I received a digital ARC for free via NetgalCW: gore, blood, death, medical content, (discussion of) child death, (discussion of) shooting in a school
I received a digital ARC for free via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.
Mad does her best to avoid returning home whenever possible. Despite this, she finds herself agreeing to teach a science class to middle schoolers at her hometown public library. Then, the evening plans drastically change when a owl dives through the window. Told as a story within a story, The Parliament is a tale of modern and fantastic survival.
You'll see a lot of reviews quoting The Birds meets The Princess Bride," which is admittedly what drew me to this story initially as well. The Birds I will give it. The Princess Bride....? Not so much. I think there's a lot better fantasy to compare The Silent Queen to. I'd probably be more inclined towards The Princess Academy, if I were to make a comparison immediately after reading. On The Birds end, though, that's a very apt comparison, and also the primary story.
Opposed to The Birds, which is just kind of weird and deeply unsettling, this story hinges more on the realism of a horror survival situation, which I think will be very appealing to many readers. Personally, I was hoping more for the weird, unsettling, and unexplained, but, y'know. You get what you get with a premise as intriguing as that one!
In terms of the secondary story, chapters from Mad's favorite childhood book, The Silent Queen, I've seen there be some division between those who enjoyed the pauses in narrative and those who were bored by it. I'm honestly somewhere in the middle. I enjoyed the ending chapters much more than the early ones, and I found myself skimming quite a lot of it, but never felt like I missed too much.
Overall, I would say I enjoyed this story, but more so the beginning and the end. The middle just dragged a bit for me. In terms of the characters, while the child cast was generally cute, none of them really stuck out to me, mostly because there were so many of them. I did really like Mad, though. ...more
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