this was SO fun. I really enjoyed this authors first book but this was even better. It's truly a testament to found family and queer joy.
My favorite this was SO fun. I really enjoyed this authors first book but this was even better. It's truly a testament to found family and queer joy.
My favorite aspects of this one were all the secondary characters. As much as I liked our MC, the secondary crew really stole the show. Even characters I didn't love in the beginning (talking about you Aaron and MCs dad) grew on me by the end to where I was rooting for them too.
the LI is a walking green flag and our MCs sister and mom really are the definition of allyship.
highly recommend this one.
CW: past physical assault and homophobic remarks and attack. it is described on page so please use caution.
This was super cute!! I was especially thrilled to see such body, gender, and racial diversity as well as so many different pride flags. Definitely reThis was super cute!! I was especially thrilled to see such body, gender, and racial diversity as well as so many different pride flags. Definitely recommend...more
Did I get this ALC last night then proceed to listen to it in it's entirety today? Yes. Yes I did.
I'm absolutely in love with @sarah.wallace.writer wDid I get this ALC last night then proceed to listen to it in it's entirety today? Yes. Yes I did.
I'm absolutely in love with @sarah.wallace.writer writing and their collab with @s.o.callahan for this series has been amazing.
At first when I saw this book's summary, I was a little worried because it was characters that hadn't played a big role (or any role) and introducing brand new characters was a gamble, but it was a gamble that paid off.
This is such a soft swoony book but I was definitely feelings some frustration for our MCs as they let others choose their futures for them. The scream I scrumpt when this cast of meddlers finally made a move might have scared Oliver ...more
I really felt like had I been more self-aware as a child I would have been Ollie. Everything about them is so relatable and how they experience genderI really felt like had I been more self-aware as a child I would have been Ollie. Everything about them is so relatable and how they experience gender and sexuality and friendships and hobbies is so similar to me that I really felt right at home with this book. It absolutely wrenched my heart strings a little bit and I am so happy that I got a chance to read this and that it exists for other people to find.
My autism as a kid and teenager was more of the just do what others are doing and everything will be fine and in a way Ollie is like that as well but they recognize that something is different with them. I didn't notice that as a child. I just tried to blend in and do what my two friends were doing. so seeing Ollie start this book with two main friends who both end up being a bit disappointing and finding a group of friends that is so much more inclusive was really heartwarming. I loved their relationship with their sister and their super awkward definitely autistic dad.
this one does deal with some queer phobia and transphobia from both other students and from Ollie's grandparents. I understand that could be difficult to read so if that is going to be triggering maybe skip this one. I will say that it's all dealt with and Ollie is supported so do it that what you will.
One of the big highlights for this for me was Ollie's interviews with women in their life. and then reading the authors know at the end that this is something they did in college was really fascinating for me. I love that the general consensus is that no one really knows what womanhood is and that felt very relatable as an AFAB agender person.
this is very much a character driven book and there's not a ton of plot going on. I would classify it almost as a slice of life but where Ollie is dealing with their mom's death and figuring out their own gender, autism, and sexuality as a preteen.
Iranian American MC, autistic, aspec questioning, nonbinary...more
This is by far Timothy janovsky's strongest book since his first release.
I love a second chance romance and this is exactly how you do an established This is by far Timothy janovsky's strongest book since his first release.
I love a second chance romance and this is exactly how you do an established couple main pairing. This book is interspersed with chapters that are called memories and give us tidbits onto the couple when they first started dating and other big moments of their relationship and so you feel like you're getting a full circle picture of their relationship and not missing out on some of their connection or experiences.
so this is a magical contemporary book where basically this couple is struggling in their marriage and when they accidentally think they murdered Santa they are faced with a choice on whether or not they can become Santa for the night or cancel Christmas. so of course they choose to become Santa and it starts this year long journey for them on figuring out how to rehabilitate their relationship and their love.
I think this was a really fun read and I especially appreciated all of the moments of figuring out how each character can find their own individual happiness and then combine that into a successful relationship. it really felt like each of our main characters was an individual and that they both had hopes and dreams and they also had a lot of love for their partner. Getting to see them figure out how to mesh everything together was really great.
this book is a little goofy but it has a lot of heart and is a really fun holiday read. I really liked it. it's probably like a 4.5 for me.
this is also a closed door romance. Timothy janovsky has written both open and closed door and in my opinion his closed door are better but I know that's a lot of personal preference.
I feel like I'm getting back on solid footing with this author. I loved his debut and his second book and then it kind of fell off the wagon for me. I'm really hoping that he's spending more time creating quality content instead of a quantity of books. I'm still going to be requesting them on netgalley and we'll see if his next reads live up to this one....more
Timothy janovsky and I have a rocky history so I'm always a bit hesitant going into a new book of his. thankfully this time, I was pleasantly surpriseTimothy janovsky and I have a rocky history so I'm always a bit hesitant going into a new book of his. thankfully this time, I was pleasantly surprised.
This one has an age gap, body diversity, and a lot of character growth from all angles.
Ethan is a fairly recently (5 years) divorced dad and he's fat and bi with adhd and 40. Taylor is an assistant to Ethan's ex-wife and he's gay and 26(I think).
When it comes time to plan Ethan's daughter's birthday party, Taylor has been given the task by Amy and he sets out to the rental property Ethan manages to handle all the set up. He didn't expect to have a tree fall on his cabin and have to stay with Ethan and be sure didn't expect to find a lot of love with the man his boss didn't have any love for anymore.
I feel like the real highlights of this book are the ADHD representation and the character growth. at first I was concerned that we were getting a bitchy ex-wife trope because I get really exhausted by gay male authors writing bitchy women into their books but Amy actually gets a full circle moment and has a chance to not only apologize but recognize where her behavior went wrong and how to fix it. She is a secondary character but she plays large role in the book. There are also additional positive female characters in the book so that was a plus.
I did like Taylor and Ethan's relationship but I would have like to see just a little bit more on the page and less talked about. I also love that Ethan is fat and that is not shied away from. But really the ADHD rep felt very well-rounded and discussed more than just being absent-minded sometimes. it really went into a lot of facets of ADHD and sometimes that's missing from ADHD rep.
All in all this is one of Timothy Janovski's better books and a solid four star for me. there is explicit content on page but it's not super drawn out....more
So I am going to need to like find a way to force myself to read synopses before I start books because I was not prepared for how heavy this one was bSo I am going to need to like find a way to force myself to read synopses before I start books because I was not prepared for how heavy this one was but I would have been if I had read the synopsis. So this is your clue to go read it before you start the book.
It feels weird saying that I loved this because there are a lot of heavy themes but I really really loved this. I was heartbroken and emotional and I definitely cried some tears of relief at one point but that makes this book extra special for me. To wring so much emotion out of me in such a short period of time because I listened to this on two time speed in like 3 and 1/2 hours is pretty special.
My heart is both heavy and light and filled with hope and if the CWs aren't triggering for you, I hope you give this one a shot.
I love this trilogy so much. I love all the characters and the banter and the representation and the magicalness. I love lovwow. wow wow wow wow wow.
I love this trilogy so much. I love all the characters and the banter and the representation and the magicalness. I love love love that this book got a little bit of complexity when it comes to our main character romance situation in terms of internal complexity. we all know that both of them have hoards of complicatedness happening outside of themselves individually.
I will say that this one of the three, was a little harder to follow for me. A lot of that comes down to how many characters there are and how many people there are to remember. I have a feeling that there's some sort of map situation or character chart in the physical books or at least I hope there is but for the audios that's not an option. A lot of the names also sound very similar and so I did struggle a little bit to kind of keep everybody straight (hehe) and organized.
That being said, My mind is blown by the ending of this and I absolutely finished this with a giddy little smile on my face. I cannot recommend this enough....more
Adiba Jaigirdar is either a complete home run (the dos and donuts of love) or a middle of the road author for me and I think this maybe falls somewherAdiba Jaigirdar is either a complete home run (the dos and donuts of love) or a middle of the road author for me and I think this maybe falls somewhere in the middle?
It was cute and I love a ex friends to rivals to lovers situation but I wish they had more time on page to discover themselves away from the stupid boy.
Don't get me wrong, I liked it and will definitely recommend it, it's just not a favorite for me. 3.5...more
This was really cute! I requested it from NetGalley because I've been on a middle grade kick and it seemed cute and I didn't realize it was by the samThis was really cute! I requested it from NetGalley because I've been on a middle grade kick and it seemed cute and I didn't realize it was by the same author who wrote Olivetti which I really enjoyed last year and is about a sentient typewriter.
So this one is about Prue who is 11 years old and lives in an apartment building that is getting sold and they're getting evicted essentially. It's also told from the perspective of the building and how they want to be appreciated by the tenants and save themselves. Prue doesn't want to leave the building because it's the last place that her sister Lena was and just like in Olivetti, this book manages to tackle a really serious topic like the death of a sibling with grace and care and in a way that is appropriate for middle grade readers.
This one has a really eccentric cast of characters as you can imagine in any sort of apartment building there is a whole host of tenants and it's a lot about community care and organizing and showing up for each other in the face of greed and capitalism and such. It's really about what we can learn from each other and how we can love each other through hardships and happiness....more
This is such a fun anothology of coffee shop queer stories. I feel like this might be one of the first anthologies I've read where every single story This is such a fun anothology of coffee shop queer stories. I feel like this might be one of the first anthologies I've read where every single story is almost the same length. they're between 14 and 16 pages and there's none that are longer than that. it means you get a lot of stories and some do a better job at weaving a plot line and memorable characters in that page length than others do. All in all a very solid anthology with a wide variety of queer identities, racial diversity, disability, and body types. one heart means that I really really liked it and two hearts me and that it's a favorite of mine.
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