Alex �� Comets and Comments ��'s bookshelf: read

Check, Please!

Wed, 20 Nov 2024 19:31:29 -0800

author: Ngozi Ukazu
name: Alex �� Comets and Comments ��
average rating: 4.60
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/20
shelves: to-read
review:

Survival of the Richest (The Trust Fund Duet, #1)

Wed, 03 Apr 2024 03:17:09 -0700

author: Skye Warren
name: Alex �� Comets and Comments ��
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2018
rating: 1
read at: 2018/06/13
date added: 2024/04/03
shelves: arc, alex-rolled-her-eyes-way-too-often, better-late-than-never, cliffhanger-syndrome, contemporary-romance, dnf, don-t-think-with-your-dick, forbidden-fruit, money-money-money, never-again, no-in-every-language-in-the-cosmos, pop-that-cherry, romance, unpopular-opinion, what-the-actual-fuck
review:
“I don’t want to die, but I want to live. People call that having a death wish.��

DNF at 51%

As much as I wanted to love this book, both of us just did not get along. There was too many cliches and lately, I've been noticing that those seem to get on my nerves the most. This (short) review will be of my own and does not take away from the fact that everyone who is thinking of giving this book a try - should do it!!

P.S This review is filled to the brim (staring now) with sexual innuendos. I'm making up for all the pent up sexual tension ~~that this book did not deliver for me.~~
______________

Things I Shall Take Away From This Book
- Try Skye Warren again, Alex.
Perhaps this book just did not rub you the right way (all the sexual innuendos for my romance hoes out there) and you needed something....more.

-Many of your friends have loved her books, Alex.
Perhaps her past work in dark romance will in fact hit all the right spots. (2 for 2, baby)

“A gentleman would add my name to the guest list.��
“Did I give you the impression that I was a gentleman? My apologies.��

Things This Book Has Taken Away From me
-My ability to tolerate love triangles.
I thought I could do it folks, I really did. I used to enjoy love triangles and when this ARC traveling its way onto my kindle, I did a little happy dance because who doesn't want some angst and drama in their romance every once in a while?

-The amount of shits I give for overused tropes and cliches.
Daddy issues, money vs. money, popping the cherry (pick me, pick me!!!), etc etc etc.

-PLAYING HIDE AND SEEK WITH THE PLOT
'nuff said.

Overall, I think this was a stellar case of "it's not you, it's me" and I want to go out and say that the blurb, the author and the cover reeled me in from the get-go. Had it been any other time I read this when I hadn't already read a myriad of other books with cliche and cringe - I wouldn't have minded and perhaps actually enjoyed.

Merged review:

“I don’t want to die, but I want to live. People call that having a death wish.��

DNF at 51%

As much as I wanted to love this book, both of us just did not get along. There was too many cliches and lately, I've been noticing that those seem to get on my nerves the most. This (short) review will be of my own and does not take away from the fact that everyone who is thinking of giving this book a try - should do it!!

P.S This review is filled to the brim (staring now) with sexual innuendos. I'm making up for all the pent up sexual tension ~~that this book did not deliver for me.~~
______________

Things I Shall Take Away From This Book
- Try Skye Warren again, Alex.
Perhaps this book just did not rub you the right way (all the sexual innuendos for my romance hoes out there) and you needed something....more.

-Many of your friends have loved her books, Alex.
Perhaps her past work in dark romance will in fact hit all the right spots. (2 for 2, baby)

“A gentleman would add my name to the guest list.��
“Did I give you the impression that I was a gentleman? My apologies.��

When the World Tips Over

Mon, 25 Mar 2024 12:10:59 -0700

author: Jandy Nelson
name: Alex �� Comets and Comments ��
average rating: 4.26
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/03/25
shelves: to-read, upcoming
review:

Born, Darkly (Darkly, Madly, #1)

Fri, 22 Sep 2023 11:33:23 -0700

author: Trisha Wolfe
name: Alex �� Comets and Comments ��
average rating: 3.64
book published: 2017
rating: 1
read at: 2018/02/18
date added: 2023/09/22
shelves: cliffhanger-syndrome, darker-than-my-soul, double-pov, forbidden-fruit, never-again, no-in-every-language-in-the-cosmos, new-adult, psychopaths-what, recommended-to-me, romance, sexual-tension, unlikeable-characters, unpopular-opinion, what-the-actual-fuck
review:
“Grayson, this is over.�� I hold up my hands. The ankle shackles slow his advance, but don’t stop him. “It’s never over.�� He positions himself between the door and me. “For this to be over, one of us has to die.��

Have you ever heard about an amazing plan where so many different things can go wrong?

________________

The Plot
I had so much hope for Born, Darkly and although the premise intrigued me, I was skeptical on how the author managed to pull a romance with a serial killer.
After finishing I realized, to me... this really wasn't a romance.

It fell more along the lines of a psychological thriller, and it read like an episode of Criminal Minds rather than a New Adult novel. With that purpose in mind, it actually kept me quite interested, it held certain points of suspense that made me want to read on! However, this is supposed to be a romance and as much as I want to give this book any more stars... I really can't.

This is definitely not for the faint of heart.

"Decorative art hangs strategically at eye level to keep my high-paying clients from staring at the shackled criminals in the waiting room."

Trisha Wolfe put the D (pun intended) in Dark.
Unfortunately, the D felt more like political philosophy rather than erotica.

Nothing really got me going, in hindsight - seeing all the amazing reviews for this. I feel like I'm the pickiest and stingiest person out here. It wasn't all that attractive, and being a pacifist - murderers and serial killers and people who take other peoples lives in general? Dry as the Sahara.

“No, I see myself as a hunter. They’re not victims; they’re predators stalking the woods in search of prey. If they fall into the hunter’s trap, then they were in a place they never should have been.��

The Romance

"No, I do not believe rehabilitation is achievable. Especially for the Bundys and Dahmers of the world."

I agree with this quote (taken from the book!) so much! Let me explain why....

Trigger Warnings: Murder, Rape, Kidnapping, Everything in between.

Meet Ted Bundy
"Ted Bundy was an American serial killer, kidnapper, rapist, and necrophile. He operated in various states in the USA and confessed to killing 30 women. He revisited crime scenes and indulged in sexual acts with the corpses. Bundy decapitated at least 12 victims and kept their heads as trophies in his apartment. Aged 42, Bundy died on the electric chair in 1989. His own defence attorney said, "Ted, was the very definition of heartless evil."

Meet Jeffrey Dahmer
"Jeffrey Dahmer was responsible for dismembering 17 men and boys between 1978 and 1991. Dahmer also indulged in necrophilia and cooking body parts of his victim, then eating them."

Meet Charles Cullen
"Cullen worked as a nurse in many hospitals but kept switching jobs as he was fired for suspicious behaviour from many of them. He confessed to murdering 40 elderly patients in New Jersey from 1984 to 2003. He did this by poisoning his patients to death with unprescribed medication. He stated that he wanted to relieve the patients from their suffering much like an angel would."

Meet Grayson Sullivan
He is our lead 'hero' in this story:

“My patient is the Angel of Maine. He kills ruthlessly. Without mercy, though his moniker suggests otherwise. And there’s not a bone in my body that can find fault with his logic. All his victims were deserving of punishment. And I identify with him, because I’m glad they’re dead.��

What they all have in common: They have all killed people.
There is no scale in murder.
Killing someone is killing someone.

This book set out to take the Robin Hood complex with it's romance, we saw the equally deranged and broken thought processes of both Grayson and London. It showed how Grayson was killing and torturing people that 'deserved' to be killed because they were killers, or rapists, or criminal themselves. This allowed Grayson to become a vigilante.

In all honesty, those criminals and sick rapists, and murderers probably deserved things worse than death. However, once Grayson chose to take the law onto himself and he himself, started killing and torturing people? He was no better.

There is no scale in murder.
Killing someone is killing someone.
Murder is NOT sexy, at least not to me.

"The rules of psychoanalysis are simple: there are no rules. In this safe haven, I can confess my excitement, my arousal at watching the woman be bound and racked until her limbs snapped. But I won’t admit that aloud. I refuse to give in to him."

The Writing
I really enjoyed the writing in this story. The narration was a brilliant tone that created a chilling atmosphere. It's mood was perfect for the topics it dealt with. At times, the story could get confusing, but I learnt early that, that was the style of the flow and rhythm of the pace.

“I hate you,�� I whisper.
“You hate everything but me.��

It made me uncomfortable a lot of the time. The dialogue felt a bit robotic and monotone, but that was defeated by the over empowering monologue with both the characters. The structure of the book was also really cool. It was strategically orchestrated so that every little jigsaw piece the reader got, was put into place later on in the story. So hats off to the author for that!

The last handful of chapters threw me off completely! I did not see any of that coming and the twist had me at the edge of my seat. I wanted to give this two stars for all the points mentioned above, but I felt at the end of the day - It would be doing my beliefs an injustice.

I'm a massive fan of dark romance, and over the years I've read some pretty fucked up shit. I think the fact that we got a psychological and 'therapy' side to this story made things harder to deal with. Especially with everything going on in our world at the moment. With more and more girls coming out and saying they have been raped. With more murder cases and school shootings, I felt in the cultural context of things. I couldn't get myself to feel any empathy for their love.

“It’s a simple yin yang; dark and light feeding each side and devouring. A snake eating it’s own tail. A vicious cycle.��

Merged review:

“Grayson, this is over.�� I hold up my hands. The ankle shackles slow his advance, but don’t stop him. “It’s never over.�� He positions himself between the door and me. “For this to be over, one of us has to die.��

Have you ever heard about an amazing plan where so many different things can go wrong?

________________

The Plot
I had so much hope for Born, Darkly and although the premise intrigued me, I was skeptical on how the author managed to pull a romance with a serial killer.
After finishing I realized, to me... this really wasn't a romance.

It fell more along the lines of a psychological thriller, and it read like an episode of Criminal Minds rather than a New Adult novel. With that purpose in mind, it actually kept me quite interested, it held certain points of suspense that made me want to read on! However, this is supposed to be a romance and as much as I want to give this book any more stars... I really can't.

This is definitely not for the faint of heart.

"Decorative art hangs strategically at eye level to keep my high-paying clients from staring at the shackled criminals in the waiting room."

“No, I see myself as a hunter. They’re not victims; they’re predators stalking the woods in search of prey. If they fall into the hunter’s trap, then they were in a place they never should have been.��

The Romance

"No, I do not believe rehabilitation is achievable. Especially for the Bundys and Dahmers of the world."

“My patient is the Angel of Maine. He kills ruthlessly. Without mercy, though his moniker suggests otherwise. And there’s not a bone in my body that can find fault with his logic. All his victims were deserving of punishment. And I identify with him, because I’m glad they’re dead.��

"The rules of psychoanalysis are simple: there are no rules. In this safe haven, I can confess my excitement, my arousal at watching the woman be bound and racked until her limbs snapped. But I won’t admit that aloud. I refuse to give in to him."

“I hate you,�� I whisper.
“You hate everything but me.��

“It’s a simple yin yang; dark and light feeding each side and devouring. A snake eating it’s own tail. A vicious cycle.��

Fence #1 (Fence, #1)

Sun, 04 Jun 2023 01:12:36 -0700

author: C.S. Pacat
name: Alex �� Comets and Comments ��
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2017
rating: 3
read at: 2017/11/16
date added: 2023/06/04
shelves: lgbtq, m-m, upcoming, young-adult, beautiful-doesnt-even-cut-it, comic, cute-and-cuddly, graphic-novel, thin-line-between-love-and-hate, unpopular-opinion
review:
"I'm going to beat you fifteen-zero."

(Art by HamletMachine)

We got 22 pages.
Let me deconstruct what I can after ~~reading~~ consuming those 22 pages in around 22 seconds.

It's fair to say that I am pretty much already sold on Nicholas and Seiji.

___________________

HI HELLO, PLEASE 'READ ME LOUD AND QUEER'

The artwork is mouth-watering. I shit you not, Johanna the Mad has mad skills. The atmosphere that the artwork added in itself was beautiful enough to carry on the story.
The only reason this is getting 3 stars, is I feel like it could have had more substance in it.

I know we are getting the sequel next month, December

But I still felt, like if I gave this anymore than 3 stars it would be a bias on the author and the artist, not on the story itself. Like a true reviewer, I would like to see how the rest of the story pans out and if it holds up to its greatness.

I really hope it makes us all burst.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
this is not a drill ladies and gentlemen. I repeat - this is not a fucking drill

Let me just catch you up on this wonderful thing that is going to swallow me whole and be a constant thought on my mind for the next 3 months.

*ahem*

�� C.S Pacat (need I say anymore?)
�� Fencing
�� Graphic Novel
�� Gay Love Story��
�� Johanna the Mad's artwork
�� Ragtag group of boys
�� You don't know it yet but your next favorite comic series.

Meet the Characters

From Left to Right: Nicholas, Seiji, Harvard, Aiden, Jesse, Dante and Bobby

What we know so far:

Nicholas: "The main character is Nicholas. He’s sort of talented but roughly trained, he has the potential to be a world-class fencer but only if he can learn discipline and control. Unknown to everyone else in the comic, he's the illegitimate son of U.S. fencing Olympic champion Robert Coste.
Nicholas grew up in tough conditions and gets in trouble a lot. He’s often in detention but he loves fencing. He's drawn to it out of a kind of yearning for his father."

Jesse: Nicholas' half brother. "Robert’s legitimate son, and fencing golden boy Jesse. Those two guys have never met before."

"As a result of Nicholas' passion, he gets a scholarship to an elite boys school called Kings Row where he's a fish out of water initially. But he learns to make friends and improve along the way."

Seiji: The other main character. "The best fencer on the team Japanese. Seiji is like a young fencing prodigy. He’s 16 years old and he's been training since the age of 6. All the other fencers either want to be him or beat him. But because of his talent, he's somewhat isolated. He spends his time with adult fencers or with coaches. Until he meets Nicholas he's lived quite an isolated life that's only about fencing and winning."

The supporting cast.

Aiden: "The mean playboy with a heart of gold"
Harvard: "The goodhearted team captain"
Coach Sally: "a former Olympic fencer in sabre, her lifelong rival in sabre, Alessandra, is coach of the rival team school."

So Nicholas and Seiji will be facing off against their coach’s greatest rival and her team throughout the series.

Sneak Peek into the artwork

...

You guys, my heart is currently going through an asthma attack, and this book is its inhaler. I'm going to have to wait 3 months for my hearts metaphorical inhaler!!!!

Merged review:

"I'm going to beat you fifteen-zero."

(Art by HamletMachine)

We got 22 pages.
Let me deconstruct what I can after ~~reading~~ consuming those 22 pages in around 22 seconds.

It's fair to say that I am pretty much already sold on Nicholas and Seiji.

___________________

HI HELLO, PLEASE 'READ ME LOUD AND QUEER'

The artwork is mouth-watering. I shit you not, Johanna the Mad has mad skills. The atmosphere that the artwork added in itself was beautiful enough to carry on the story.
The only reason this is getting 3 stars, is I feel like it could have had more substance in it.

I know we are getting the sequel next month, December

But I still felt, like if I gave this anymore than 3 stars it would be a bias on the author and the artist, not on the story itself. Like a true reviewer, I would like to see how the rest of the story pans out and if it holds up to its greatness.

I really hope it makes us all burst.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
this is not a drill ladies and gentlemen. I repeat - this is not a fucking drill

Let me just catch you up on this wonderful thing that is going to swallow me whole and be a constant thought on my mind for the next 3 months.

*ahem*

�� C.S Pacat (need I say anymore?)
�� Fencing
�� Graphic Novel
�� Gay Love Story��
�� Johanna the Mad's artwork
�� Ragtag group of boys
�� You don't know it yet but your next favorite comic series.

Meet the Characters

From Left to Right: Nicholas, Seiji, Harvard, Aiden, Jesse, Dante and Bobby

What we know so far:

Nicholas: "The main character is Nicholas. He’s sort of talented but roughly trained, he has the potential to be a world-class fencer but only if he can learn discipline and control. Unknown to everyone else in the comic, he's the illegitimate son of U.S. fencing Olympic champion Robert Coste.
Nicholas grew up in tough conditions and gets in trouble a lot. He’s often in detention but he loves fencing. He's drawn to it out of a kind of yearning for his father."

Jesse: Nicholas' half brother. "Robert’s legitimate son, and fencing golden boy Jesse. Those two guys have never met before."

"As a result of Nicholas' passion, he gets a scholarship to an elite boys school called Kings Row where he's a fish out of water initially. But he learns to make friends and improve along the way."

Seiji: The other main character. "The best fencer on the team Japanese. Seiji is like a young fencing prodigy. He’s 16 years old and he's been training since the age of 6. All the other fencers either want to be him or beat him. But because of his talent, he's somewhat isolated. He spends his time with adult fencers or with coaches. Until he meets Nicholas he's lived quite an isolated life that's only about fencing and winning."

The supporting cast.

Aiden: "The mean playboy with a heart of gold"
Harvard: "The goodhearted team captain"
Coach Sally: "a former Olympic fencer in sabre, her lifelong rival in sabre, Alessandra, is coach of the rival team school."

So Nicholas and Seiji will be facing off against their coach’s greatest rival and her team throughout the series.

Sneak Peek into the artwork

...

You guys, my heart is currently going through an asthma attack, and this book is its inhaler. I'm going to have to wait 3 months for my hearts metaphorical inhaler!!!!

The Brightest Stars (The Stars, #1)

Sun, 14 May 2023 00:26:08 -0700

author: Anna Todd
name: Alex �� Comets and Comments ��
average rating: 3.34
book published: 2018
rating: 1
read at: 2018/09/06
date added: 2023/05/14
shelves: arc, alex-rolled-her-eyes-way-too-often, alex-rants-shelf, better-late-than-never, cliffhanger-syndrome, contemporary-romance, cute-and-cuddly, friends-to-lovers, insta-love-bug, new-adult, not-memorable, romance, slow-burn, try-again-later, unlikeable-characters, unpopular-opinion, war, what-the-actual-fuck, young-love
review:
"I would always remember that, the way he made parts of me ache that I had never felt before. I would always be thankful for that."

Having reasonably enjoyed Anna Todd's After Series, this was something of a letdown for me. It had its perks that made you want to read on... but they were a few and a well-spaced few.

_________________

To Begin,
I have always taken notes on the books I read. I used to highlight, jot down and (vandalize) every book that meant something to me. However, when I started blogging late last year - I ended up doing it with every book I read. Regardless of its format.

I do this so when it comes to review time, my review ends up being an honest interpretation of what I was feeling whilst reading the book. Sometimes that affects the rating, sometimes it doesn't. I often do it to remember the good moments, but there are some books that I highlight quotes so I can back up the claims I'm making on my review.

While I was reading back my notes in time for this review, I ended up laughing because;

I can explain that last one. I found myself to be so unfocused on the plot that my head had managed to subconsciously think of all the other things I should be doing, and so I wrote down that I had to buy groceries on my kindle so I would remember the next day. I bought the milk, don't worry babes ;)

That long winded introduction leads me to the first thing about this book that didn't mesh well with me. It had a premise and blurb that seemed so promising and unique, yet nothing really hooked on to me. I was reading because I had to and not because I want to. That being said, I actually remember enjoying her After series and her writing albeit atypical really works well with me. This book just didn't .

The plot was mainly two dimensional and so were the characters for me. There were some really cliche and "instal-love" moments that had me cringing and wishing that the execution was better. I ended up fleshing out the setting and the context more than the characters and that made it really hard to invest myself into their chemistry.

Cliffhanger Warning
If you've already read the reviews, I'm pretty sure a lot of them will warn you that this is a part of a series. When the book had just been added to ŷ��, there was no indication that it wasn't a standalone and I went into it thinking that it was. There is a cliffhanger ending but I don't know if I plan on reading on.

There wasn't any dialogue that felt realistic, a lot of lapses in narration and just an overall awkward feeling. The writing often had an "I did this then that then went there and did that" undertone with the flow and pace. I'm used to Anna Todd's unusually lengthy bouts of inner monologue in her text. However, in this it completely swallowed the romance and the story of the characters and their development.

I think there was a reach for a slowborn but all I could feel was the slow...

Punk 57

Thu, 23 Mar 2023 00:59:12 -0700

author: Penelope Douglas
name: Alex �� Comets and Comments ��
average rating: 3.76
book published: 2016
rating: 5
read at: 2017/05/30
date added: 2023/03/23
shelves: all-time-favorites, new-adult, thin-line-between-love-and-hate, its-getting-hot-in-here
review:
"Seven years, and this is how you want to meet, angel?"

HOLY MOTHERF#@%....

I'm going to start right off the bat by saying if this review was going off how hot this book got me, it would break my rating scale. I needed a cold shower multiple times while reading this. I needed to close the book and calm my heart. If you look close enough, you'll find little tiny shatters of my heart lying somewhere on my carpet.

The Steam
Well, Shit. If there was one thing this book did not lack in - it was sexual tension.

"Did you fantasize I kept them? Maybe with a little red bow tied neatly around the stack as I jerk off to them, because I love your pretty words so much?"

Penelope Douglas knows the exact words to get you feeling hot and bothered in 2 seconds flat.
All be it, at times the extreme mood and atmosphere changes between Ryen and Misha gave me whiplash, that was only a minor fallback I had.

"I part my lips, running them over the lip ring and savoring the feel as he groans and digs his fingers into my thighs. I tighten my legs around him, needing to feel him.

'Bitch' he whispers.
'Loser.' "

The Twists
I loved that every small questionable aspect that I went through as a reader, led up to something - and a lot of the time, it was never something that I suspected. It really kept me on my toes.
Overall, the story was fleshed out well and didn't get lost under all the sexual tension between the two main characters. In my eyes, there was more to it than just your regular romance.

I also really enjoyed the dual points of view we got and we got to go through the story with both the known and unknown variables in the plot. Both Ryen and Misha had distinct voices through the story that added to it.

Misha was a character that I hated to love. I loved the way we got to see the little vulnerabilities that cracked through his tough exterior but we also got to see his journey of loving and losing.

NOT TO MENTION THE DAMN DIRTY TALK!

"I'm his. All of me. I want him all over me."

This is where the rapid breaths and the spiked heart rate comes in because woooowwww.
I was a hot mess and not gonna lie - still kinda am.

The Romance
Love - Hate romances are almost always a hit with me, I tend to enjoy the banter and the tension that comes with it. In all aspects, Punk 57 did not fail to impress.

"You're my tribe, Ryen"

"Tell me I'm yours"

The romance was high-school centered which could make it hard for the author to make it realistic enough for the readers to believe that these characters are teenagers. At points, I had a little scrunch of the brows and couldn't really imagine high schoolers doing, or saying some things that occurred in the story.
That got over-ruled really fast by the myriad of realistic moments that happened in the story-line.
Overall, Punk 57 is definitely a book I will read again sometime and its already found its place on my favorites shelf.

Merged review:

"Seven years, and this is how you want to meet, angel?"

HOLY MOTHERF#@%....

I'm going to start right off the bat by saying if this review was going off how hot this book got me, it would break my rating scale. I needed a cold shower multiple times while reading this. I needed to close the book and calm my heart. If you look close enough, you'll find little tiny shatters of my heart lying somewhere on my carpet.

The Steam
Well, Shit. If there was one thing this book did not lack in - it was sexual tension.

"Did you fantasize I kept them? Maybe with a little red bow tied neatly around the stack as I jerk off to them, because I love your pretty words so much?"

Penelope Douglas knows the exact words to get you feeling hot and bothered in 2 seconds flat.
All be it, at times the extreme mood and atmosphere changes between Ryen and Misha gave me whiplash, that was only a minor fallback I had.

"I part my lips, running them over the lip ring and savoring the feel as he groans and digs his fingers into my thighs. I tighten my legs around him, needing to feel him.

'Bitch' he whispers.
'Loser.' "

The Twists
I loved that every small questionable aspect that I went through as a reader, led up to something - and a lot of the time, it was never something that I suspected. It really kept me on my toes.
Overall, the story was fleshed out well and didn't get lost under all the sexual tension between the two main characters. In my eyes, there was more to it than just your regular romance.

I also really enjoyed the dual points of view we got and we got to go through the story with both the known and unknown variables in the plot. Both Ryen and Misha had distinct voices through the story that added to it.

Misha was a character that I hated to love. I loved the way we got to see the little vulnerabilities that cracked through his tough exterior but we also got to see his journey of loving and losing.

NOT TO MENTION THE DAMN DIRTY TALK!

"I'm his. All of me. I want him all over me."

This is where the rapid breaths and the spiked heart rate comes in because woooowwww.
I was a hot mess and not gonna lie - still kinda am.

The Romance
Love - Hate romances are almost always a hit with me, I tend to enjoy the banter and the tension that comes with it. In all aspects, Punk 57 did not fail to impress.

"You're my tribe, Ryen"

"Tell me I'm yours"

The romance was high-school centered which could make it hard for the author to make it realistic enough for the readers to believe that these characters are teenagers. At points, I had a little scrunch of the brows and couldn't really imagine high schoolers doing, or saying some things that occurred in the story.
That got over-ruled really fast by the myriad of realistic moments that happened in the story-line.
Overall, Punk 57 is definitely a book I will read again sometime and its already found its place on my favorites shelf.

Always Human

Sun, 06 Nov 2022 17:36:37 -0800

author: Ari North
name: Alex �� Comets and Comments ��
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/11/06
shelves: to-read
review:

The Student Prince (The Student Prince, #1)

Mon, 15 Nov 2021 09:40:09 -0800

author: FayJay
name: Alex �� Comets and Comments ��
average rating: 4.26
book published: 2010
rating: 5
read at: 2018/08/11
date added: 2021/11/15
shelves: m-m, hidden-gems, available-online, freebie, all-time-favorites, beautiful-doesnt-even-cut-it, better-late-than-never, contemporary-romance, cute-and-cuddly, complementary, dirty-talk, enemies-to-lovers, forbidden-fruit, fantastical-creatures, friends-to-lovers, hype-is-real, i-like-big-books-and-i-cannot-lie, its-getting-hot-in-here, lgbtq, my-heart-is-on-the-carpet, never-forget, panty-dropper, prose-before-hoes, romance, sexual-tension, slow-burn, standalone, thin-line-between-love-and-hate, young-love
review:
"...the inescapable knowledge that this was finite, was stolen, was not supposed to be."

Talking Dragons, Magic, Gay Wizard, Gay Prince, Sexual Tension, Phone Prank Wars, Love Potions, Fairies, Hammer Dance, Queer Romance and Clever Writing. Not to mention this is a free read.

Have I won you over yet?

_________________

The Story
To start, I should probably mention that this is web published fan fiction. Before you already start putting up guards (and in all defense, totally understandable) - I should probably also mention that this has some of the most beautiful and intelligent writing I have read in the Romance genre.
It seriously made me put my kindle down and question how some of the other authors I have read so far managed to get published commercially, but then you have "it will wipe the floor with you" authors such as the one from this story, that haven't gotten more recognition and exposure.

"Nobody's straight," said Cedric, rolling his eyes. "They're just confused. And too sober."

It reads better than some of the M/M romance books I have come across and if that doesn't already deserve a bunch of stars then let me tell you about what this little hidden gem is about;

If my first sentence of what this book has didn't win you over, The Student Prince revolves around fictional characters Merlin and Prince Arthur. It is based in an alternative universe in which they meet at university as roommates. Merlin starts a new phase in his life where he plans on learning more about his magical abilities whilst juggling his now out of the closet sexuality and new found friends. When he meets his new roommate, he can't believe how different he seems to the image in his head. There is honestly nothing better than the sexual tension that occurs when you read a enemies to friends to lovers romance. So really, I don't even have to say anything more.

"I want to fuck your mouth. It's such a pretty mouth, and you look so hot with it wrapped tight around my cock and your cheeks all hollowed out. I can't stop thinking about it. Come on, Merlin. You fucking love me, you know you do."

To address the fact that this is fan fiction from the TV show Merlin, I'm also going to say that I haven't watched it. Nor, am I an expert on the classic tale of King Arthur and Merlin the Great Wizard. I think I watched the disney make of Sword in the Stone like an addict when I was younger, so I knew the bare minimum going into this. I could tell however, the wicked ways the author foreshadowed to events that would potentially happen in the show and it made me want to drop all my priorities and binge watch Merlin.

Yet, I feel like you need none of those to enjoy the lights out of this book. It's the perfect little gem that I recommend you should snuggle up in bed to and let the magic consume you. Truly, one of a kind.

The Romance
Fans of Carry On would love this. I can already see it.

The humor being very tongue in cheek and the pacing much like a slow burn but in the best way possible, you could really feel the sexual tension between both characters. It was practically a palpable energy that emitted from my kindle.

I was also rooting for so many of the side characters, the university setting was perfect! Merlin and Arthur had such a chemistry that it completely came off the page and into my heart.

"But, Arthur -- you're rude to me all the time," he pointed out, feeling his heart give a stupid little squeeze. "Yes, well -- I'm allowed to be," said Arthur, crossly, sitting down again. "I'm the Prince of Wales, and you're Welsh. I can do whatever I bloody well like to you."

This book made me want to just dive right into the m/m genre and never come out. I find so many over-used tropes and characterizations in f/m romance that I've begun to think that I might need a break. However, my love for that genre will never die so it's a catch 22.

I knew from the minute I read the first paragraph that I was going to fall in love with this book and sure enough I did. That feeling, very rarely happens in a book with me - where it just clicks that I was made to read this. Everything about it was so fucking brilliant.

"I'm Arthur," said Arthur, in what must have been the most entirely redundant sentence in the history of creation -- because, really, Merlin was pretty sure that even Amazonian tribespeople who'd never tasted Coca Cola could probably pick Prince Arthur out of a lineup."

What I do assume some people would strongly suffer from reading this is understanding the British colloquialisms and slang if they aren't accustomed to this already. Although, it's very easy to catch on with some words (through context), the slang used in this was day-to-day words I know through friends and family.

For example:

"I wouldn't want to fuck you if you had a ten inch knob made of solid gold and your arsehole was the gate to Nirvana, you massive pillock," said Merlin, red faced and furious. "I can't be friends with you because you're a gibbering twatwaffle, not because I would ever, in a million years, want to shag you. Get over yourself!"

The X Factor
What really did it for me was how unique so many things were. I love weird. I love LGBT+ representation and I love seeing how an author builds their world. This had all of the above and more. So much so that it won my last and final star over - making this an all time favourite read.

There are two different five star reads out there: one that you do and regret, half feeling guilty because you know it's not really a five star read. The other is one that you will never forget and each time you think of the book, you know it deserves even more than the lousy rating system ŷ�� has graced us with.

This was definitely the latter.

"'No' seems such a flimsy and inadequate little word to express how very little interest I have in hearing you rambling on about that particular topic," said the dragon. "Your mating rituals are roughly as fascinating to me as the eating habits of snails."

Note: All the wonderful fan art attached to this review belongs to the rightful (kickass) owners.

Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World (Aristotle and Dante, #2)

Wed, 17 Feb 2021 20:10:11 -0800

author: Benjamin Alire Sáenz
name: Alex �� Comets and Comments ��
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/02/17
shelves: to-read, upcoming
review:

Dark Rise (Dark Rise, #1)

Wed, 09 Dec 2020 09:37:14 -0800

author: C.S. Pacat
name: Alex �� Comets and Comments ��
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2020/12/09
shelves: to-read, fantasy-me-up, fiction, hype-is-real, lgbtq, magic, most-anticipated, my-heart-is-on-the-carpet, upcoming, young-adult
review:
things that have been confirmed by the queen herself;
1) "this story is a classic battle of good and evil in a world full of ambiguities, reversals and twists, where nothing is as it seems."
2) it's a whole new cast of characters and YES the books will have "LGBTQ+ characters as well as some intense relationships"
3) it's releasing sometime during fall 2021

things that alex can confirm hereafter;
1) i'll take 20 please and thank you.

A Girl Like Lilac

Sun, 06 Dec 2020 18:35:06 -0800

author: Victoria L. James
name: Alex �� Comets and Comments ��
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2020/12/06
shelves: to-read, new-adult
review:

In Peace Lies Havoc (Midnight Mayhem, #1)

Tue, 24 Mar 2020 17:19:18 -0700

author: Amo Jones
name: Alex �� Comets and Comments ��
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2019/11/16
date added: 2020/03/24
shelves: 2019-favorites, abuse, angst-with-a-capital-a, better-late-than-never, bully, cliffhanger-syndrome, darker-than-my-soul, dirty-talk, double-pov, enemies-to-lovers, erotica, family-power, forbidden-fruit, guilty-pleasures, haunting, hidden-gems, hype-is-real, jealousy, its-getting-hot-in-here, new-adult, panty-dropper, psychopaths-what, romance, sexual-tension, second-chances, swallowed-it-whole, thin-line-between-love-and-hate, trigger-warning, what-the-actual-fuck, captive
review:
“Strip, Little Bird. Show us what you’ve got,�� King whispers, just as he shoves me back to my feet. “Dance like you fuck. Like exactly how you taste.��

Amo Jones didn't come to fucking play, fellas.
_______________

Ever wonder what would happen if Cirque Du Soleil went rogue and ended in an orgy?
In Peace Lies Havoc was a thrill-ride amongst many other rides, pun very much intended. It was addicting and full of angst that had me on the very edge... again, pun very much intended. The story was dark and gritty and never had me losing interest.

Before I start my review, I should probably mention that Amo Jones books are not for everyone. They weren't for me either until I tried this book on a whim because I am a die-hard fan of the circus-romance trope. I read a book by her last year that just did not sit right with me. I still hold strong to the points I made in that review but this just went to show me that surprises do really happen. Part of my reluctance to often try authors that I have had bad experiences with, again is the fact that I alike many others, loathe writing negative reviews. Because who really, wants to sit down and write all the things you felt were personally wrong with something?

I was so captivated by this book, it was almost dramatically ironic. Almost.

"I stopped breathing when I felt him behind me, his breathing on my nape. “We’ll be back for you, Little Bird.�� The Shadow pressed into me from behind, his hard chest to my back. “I’ll always be back.��

I don't want to give a summary or a blurb to what this book is about because to be quite honest, I still don't know. It's a clusterfuck of emotions and stories that are so bizarre, you might actually believe them. I think I'm quite scared of Jones' mind because if she managed to whip up this story, who knows what else she's capable of?

I mean... this was a dark "captivity" romance set around a travelling sexual performance company had characters that made me want to hide. Then there was the mind games, angst games, murders, gangs/mobs, plot twists, stockholm syndrome (if you can call it that) and a seriously underrated trailer driver. Oh, and let's not forget this little nugget;

“Heads, I suck your pussy until you scream, to show this fool how a real man fucks. Or tails, I cut off each of your fingers and fuck you with them. Both will have you screamin��, baby. So, what will it be?��

* Cue the nervous laughter *

This wasn't perfect, I definitely found myself getting frustrated with some plotholes and annoyed at some of the events that unfolded. I wanted Dove to fight back harder and not be so oblivious, but then we might not have our story...Overall I was so hooked. The Brothers of Kiznitch are psychopathic and deliriously yummy even though they shouldn't be. If you're a fan of dark romance and haven't already read this gem, trust me... you won't regret it.

Also just a note:
I need Kohen's story.
I need Val and Rose to get together and kill all that sexual tension already.
Kyrin and Kenan make my heart melt and we only got a second of them.

"Intimacy is just like murder; they both make your heart race and your palms sweat while leaving your thoughts in disarray, but then when you’re done, you’re left with the remnants of someone else’s soul or blood on your hands."

Amo Jones doesn't make any stops with this book. It's a rollercoaster from start to finish and I was left with my mouth hanging open, not knowing what the everloving fuck I just read. I'm kinda still speechless, don't let the review fool you.

Trigger Warnings: Assault, Abduction

The Extraordinaries

Sat, 14 Mar 2020 13:42:24 -0700

author: T.J. Klune
name: Alex �� Comets and Comments ��
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2020/03/14
shelves: to-read
review:

Any Way the Wind Blows (Simon Snow, #3)

Sat, 07 Mar 2020 10:35:14 -0800

author: Rainbow Rowell
name: Alex �� Comets and Comments ��
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2020/03/07
shelves: to-read, enemies-to-lovers, fantasy-me-up, lgbtq, m-m, magic, most-anticipated, romance, young-adult
review:
after wayward son, please let this entire book be rainbow rowell putting snowbaz's relationship in rice.

Whatever It Takes (Bad Reputation Duet, #1)

Thu, 05 Mar 2020 23:20:24 -0800

author: Krista Ritchie
name: Alex �� Comets and Comments ��
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2020/03/05
shelves: to-read
review:

Wherever You Are (Bad Reputation Duet, #2)

Thu, 05 Mar 2020 22:57:42 -0800

author: Krista Ritchie
name: Alex �� Comets and Comments ��
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2020/03/05
shelves: to-read
review:

Eleanor & Grey

Wed, 04 Mar 2020 11:34:18 -0800

author: Brittainy C. Cherry
name: Alex �� Comets and Comments ��
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2020/03/04
shelves: to-read
review:

Wicked Lies Boys Tell

Fri, 28 Feb 2020 09:59:19 -0800

author: K. Webster
name: Alex �� Comets and Comments ��
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2019
rating: 3
read at: 2019/10/04
date added: 2020/02/28
shelves: alex-rolled-her-eyes-way-too-often, angst-with-a-capital-a, contemporary-romance, dirty-talk, don-t-think-with-your-dick, double-pov, enemies-to-lovers, fake-marriage, forbidden-fruit, friends-to-lovers, guilty-pleasures, high-school-drama-rama, insta-love-bug, little-or-no-review, m-m, money-money-money, new-adult, panty-dropper, romance, second-chances, sexual-tension, unlikeable-characters
review:

Happy-Go-Lucky

Mon, 10 Feb 2020 10:47:17 -0800

author: L.H. Cosway
name: Alex �� Comets and Comments ��
average rating: 3.77
book published: 2018
rating: 3
read at: 2019/08/22
date added: 2020/02/10
shelves: arc, cute-and-cuddly, contemporary-romance, forbidden-fruit, office-romance, friends-to-lovers, insta-love-bug, mystery, romance, short-reads, standalone
review:
“Have you been thinking about me, too?��

This was such a fast, cute and floofy read. I usually always enjoy Cosway's work and Happy-Go-Lucky was no exception. It was something I cuddled up to with my coffee in the mornings and found myself smiling more often than not.

_______________

Banter and Blunders

Whilst I enjoyed HGL, it does come with certain cliche and cringey moments. We have our main character Maisie who I thought would grate on my nerves after a while, but I actually ended up rooting for her during my reading process. Cameron was someone I ended up liking as Maisie got to know him more and I think both this aspects together completely sold the character development for me! HGL is definitely a light read with very tongue-in-cheek humor, and if you like a good-hearted office romance, you should definitely give this a shot!

The banter between Cameron and Maisie was at times cartoony but other times very adorable. My main issue with this story was that the 'mystery' didn't hook me as much as the romance did. I wish we got more of a gripping story arc because the potential was definitely there. As romance goes, this is completely a safe and comforting read -it's definitely more on the cute than sensual/sexy side... totally flew by!

"But then Cameron was kissing me again, and I couldn’t think straight. His hands were all over me, and I felt his hunger in the way he groaned when he massaged my breast over the top of my clothes. I sensed his desperation, like his lonely heart yearned for mine even if he’d never admit it."

The Best Thing

Fri, 07 Feb 2020 01:01:58 -0800

author: Mariana Zapata
name: Alex �� Comets and Comments ��
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2020/02/07
shelves: to-read
review:

Infinity Son (Infinity Cycle, #1)

Fri, 17 Jan 2020 09:15:25 -0800

author: Adam Silvera
name: Alex �� Comets and Comments ��
average rating: 3.30
book published: 2020
rating: 1
read at: 2019/12/16
date added: 2020/01/17
shelves: arc, alex-rolled-her-eyes-way-too-often, alex-rants-shelf, young-adult, enemies-to-lovers, fantastical-creatures, fantasy-me-up, lgbtq, magic, most-anticipated, no-in-every-language-in-the-cosmos, not-memorable, unlikeable-characters, unpopular-opinion, what-the-actual-fuck
review:
"Times passes, and the agony doesn’t go away. The faintest phoenix song begs me to survive, but I’m tired of the music and wish someone would put out my fire for good."

Adam Silvera is keeping his crown on making people cry with his books. This book definitely made me want to cry.

_______________

Having all the ingredients and not following any recipe.

I'm going to start everything by saying if this is your first AS book (or if it will be and you end up sharing my feelings about it) then please do not give up on him. His contemporaries are so heartbreakingly beautiful and lyrical, it felt like this was a different author. Secondly, if you end up loving this book, wait till you get a load of his previous work, chief. Just saying.

When I finished this book, the main problem I had was that I couldn't remember half the story. I had read this on and off for a while because I kept getting bored, but then something interesting�� would happen and I would keep reading. Rinse, repeat. It truly sucks that I have to write this review because I wanted to love this so much. I wanted to rave all about it and get excited when I see people reading it on my feed. *sigh*

This book is not without merit. It has fantastic representation and whilst the LGBT romance didn't take the main stage, having a queer writer writing queer characters is always a win (plus, even though it was very poorly executed - it was a hero+villain romance so double win). There was cast diversity and plenty of it!! Had the plot been more captivating, reading about phoenixes?? Hell yes! My fantasy world has seen vampires, werewolves, trolls, sirens etc etc. but this is the first book I have ever read that MC's phoenixes (Fawkes will always be my OG, don't you even worry). I enjoyed reading about Emil and Brighton's bond, that was the one thing that felt "real" to me, even though a lot of their dialogue and arc's were cliché.

Which brings me to my first (but not biggest) problem, there were way too many clichés. The dialogue, the relationship dynamics, the development of the story. I don't know how this book managed to be worse than Zenith but it did... We even got this line;

"It’s time to connect the stars in my constellation."

I have said this before but I'll say it again; in my opinion, the biggest win in a fantasy novel is accomplishing your world-building alongside the story. I often come across great plots and awesome characters but paragraphs and chapters of flashbacks or info-dumps that just make reading intolerable. Was this the case with Infinity Son?

Absolutely not.

Infinity Son was the complete opposite. There was no world-building or introduction to the magic system. You enter Silvera's world and all it is, is whiplash after whiplash. It was like walking into an advanced calculus lecture when you're supposed to be in Philosophy 101. The literal embodiment of that confused math lady meme (See Fig. 1). To make matters worse, it wasn't even the good type of confused. What is the good type of confused, Alex? Well... remember when you first watched Shutter Island or Inception and you ended up in the same math lady confused meme vibe but you actually want to be thinking about it and piecing it together??? Not this book, this book needs to come with a manual and some advil.

^ incase I didn't articulate myself. (Fig 1. "I googled math lady confused meme")

Now for the characters. I didn't "like" a single character in this book. First of all, there were so many that I could hardly keep count outside of the POV's but the one's I did remember, I couldn't stand half the time. Brighton was your usual reckless tantrum-throwing kid and Emil was predictable and dull. It didn't help that Silvera's style of writing is narrative and not descriptive. Maybe if the characters were fleshed out more, it would have been a different story altogether. Everything felt underdeveloped.

The magic system in this is a mess at the best of times. Blood Alchemy?? Wands?? Specters?? It felt like I was reading the fourth book of a series because I was so clueless. Then, the pacing. The pacing was odd because it drew out the irrelevant scenes and then flew by the interesting ones. I was waiting for a really big bang at the end after all of the build-up but I got a deflating balloon. To be honest, it kinda felt like that the entire book.

Heartstopper: Volume One (Heartstopper, #1)

Wed, 15 Jan 2020 08:11:58 -0800

author: Alice Oseman
name: Alex �� Comets and Comments ��
average rating: 4.43
book published: 2018
rating: 5
read at: 2017/12/21
date added: 2020/01/15
shelves: all-time-favorites, childhood-lovers, comic, contemporary-romance, it-hurts, my-heart-is-on-the-carpet, romance, sexual-tension, tears-are-everywhere, young-love, webcomic, to-read, graphic-novel, beautiful-doesnt-even-cut-it, cute-and-cuddly, m-m, lgbtq, never-forget, upcoming, young-adult
review:
"Yes, I will listen to the rain. I will listen to the mountain bird. Oh, a heartstopper is the solitaire's one note - high, sweet, lonely, magic."

Here's why it's called Heartstopper.
Somewhere in the middle of those words, and the beautiful art. This story manages to do the following to that 'hollow muscular organ that pumps the blood through the circulatory system':

- Make's it skip.
- Fills it up.
- Stops it dead.
- Starts it up again.

By the time you've experienced Nick and Charlie, you'll have your heart in your hands and a smile on your face as you look at it, because it now belongs to both those nerds.
______________

A Note To Me
This is my first ever 5 stars to a graphic novel / comic. I am very very stingy with that last star, and those who know me and my reviews will be able to tell you just what a bitch I am when handing out 4/5 stars.

It deserved every. single. one.

In another one of my sequential art reviews I wrote the following:
Let me tell you a little something about graphic novels.
The ratio is about 2 part words, and 5 part images.
2:5.
Ladies and gentlemen. That's not a lot of legroom for authors to work with.
They have, what my old design teacher would call - "a very minimal amount of available resources to create a functioning system."

2:5.

And some authors can create magic.

Magic in their shortage of words, picking each and every one out, so that the system not only works but thrives...
So that the message goes across in that little word count, and the letters infiltrate pathos in your head. Then, add that to the beautiful artwork that graphic novelists aid their words with - you're left with a substance to your magic. It's the fuel that drives the story to where it's going.

The system needs the fuel to go forth in it's purpose, and the fuel needs the system to even have purpose.

Nick and Charlie

Here's what I love about what Heartstopper is so far. I love that it has aspects to it that are so real in todays society, specifically pertaining to the LGBTQ+ community. It was more than just a coming of age, it was a tribute to this generation. OUR generation.

We got this movement of emotions and just as the characters were realizing things about themselves, the audience also realizes things about today. How it is okay not to be okay.
I never understood how things like homophobia could be a thing. And maybe that's just me.

But whenever I hear a person pissing on people who choose to love the same sex, or a different sex.
I always ask "Would you choose who you love because they have a different shoe size than you?"
*Here's when I would get the blank, confused, dumbfounded stares*
Then, I would say "that's just as stupid and idiotic as choosing someone to love according to their sex."

Alice Oseman, delivers that meaning through the hearts of teenage boys. She does it spectacularly. She pulls through how love is love no matter what. In a world full of hate, no one should care when a person loves another.
This comic touched me in every single way it possibly could, and I recommend everyone and their dog to read it.

It's safe to say, that Charlie Spring has my heart, and anyone who has the courage to come and fuck with it, can fuck with me.
(I have books, and I am not afraid to throw them at you.
yeah, I'll give you two seconds to run)

A Note to You
Heartstopper is a free read! The author posts new pages on tumblr as well as tapas! So if ever you have a spare hour, you can cruise through what's up so far. She also posts little tiny extra's and minicomics here an there and I didn't know I needed them in my life, until I saw them.

Give these two boys a chance.
You won't regret it.

Tweet Cute

Sat, 28 Dec 2019 11:56:41 -0800

author: Emma Lord
name: Alex �� Comets and Comments ��
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/12/28
shelves: currently-reading, arc
review:

Regretting You

Thu, 26 Dec 2019 03:52:18 -0800

author: Colleen Hoover
name: Alex �� Comets and Comments ��
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2019
rating: 5
read at: 2019/12/11
date added: 2019/12/26
shelves: 2019-favorites, beautiful-doesnt-even-cut-it, childhood-lovers, contemporary-romance, cute-and-cuddly, double-pov, enemies-to-lovers, family-power, forbidden-fruit, friends-to-lovers, hidden-gems, high-school-drama-rama, hype-is-real, it-hurts, jealousy, made-me-laugh, most-anticipated, my-heart-is-on-the-carpet, never-forget, new-adult, romance, second-chances, sexual-tension, standalone, swallowed-it-whole, the-one-that-got-away, trigger-warning, young-adult, young-love
review:
“I’ve only ever wanted to be with you.��

If books were dresses, Colleen Hoover comes out with the ones WITH pockets!!!
_______________

A Story You Won't Regret
Every single time I pick up a CoHo book, I get pulled into such a distinct feeling. It's a nostalgic, hopeful, smiling-through-the-tears feeling that I can never find elsewhere. Regretting You exceeded my expectations and completely annihilated me. There is so much to be said of how well-crafted and beautiful this book was and I don't even know where to begin...

"Sometimes when we’re alone, he looks at me in a way that makes me feel empty when he looks away."

Let me start by suggesting that you should read this book with no prior knowledge of what the story entails. This is why this review is going to be spoiler-free, because that is honestly the only way you get to experience all the shocking and heartfelt moments for what they truly are.

Morgan and Clara's story are both so different but the way they weave together is flawless. Colleen Hoover always writes more than just a simple boy meets girl romance book. The main aspect of this book that I loved was the way Morgan and Clara loved and struggled with each other. This book could be read by a father, a mother and a daughter - it has a different tale to tell for each I think. Her writing is exceptional in this especially because she dealt with two completely different characters undergoing two completely different story arcs and developments. I could clearly distinguish between the voices and the separate accounts of grief.

“Dinner is ready. Go tell them before he gets her pregnant.��

You always get a mixture of humor, love and loss with CoHo books and this did not fail to go above and beyond that. Also, I do think this can be placed on the boundary of YA and NA. (I'd personally agree with the YA Contemporary rating).At first, I worried that I wouldnt be able to appreciate the romance stories within this book because I was too invested in the actual plot of the family, but I could not have been more wrong. The romance in this made my heart pitter-patter just like a CoHo book always does. I swear, Colleen outdoes herself every year.

It's weird writing this review because I usually have to go through pages and pages of highlights and notes that I made so that I can end up with a clear and succinct review to express my thoughts but I had close to no notes/highlights for Regretting You. That's how unputdownable this was. I was a 4 am in the morning type of crazy when I realized I had finished 80% of the book in less than a day. That's the worst kind of obsession with CoHo books, you end up reeling because you just swallowed the entire story up and now you're left having to wait for the next time she decides to grace us with a novel.

“I didn’t think our first kiss would be like that,�� he says quietly.
“Like what?��
��ٷɱ��.��
“How did you think it would be?��
His eyes wander to the few remaining customers still lingering. “I can’t show you in here.��

I absolutely loved this and my adoration of how this woman can take a story and make a masterpiece never fails to leave me stunned.

One Last Stop

Wed, 25 Dec 2019 12:01:44 -0800

author: Casey McQuiston
name: Alex �� Comets and Comments ��
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/12/25
shelves: to-read, most-anticipated, lgbtq
review:
There is a circle in hell full of all the things I would do to get my hands on this book.

Credence

Wed, 18 Dec 2019 08:59:25 -0800

author: Penelope Douglas
name: Alex �� Comets and Comments ��
average rating: 3.58
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/12/18
shelves: to-read
review:

Call Down the Hawk (Dreamer Trilogy, #1)

Mon, 16 Dec 2019 07:34:32 -0800

author: Maggie Stiefvater
name: Alex �� Comets and Comments ��
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2019
rating: 5
read at: 2019/10/27
date added: 2019/12/16
shelves: 2019-favorites, all-time-favorites, adventure, beautiful-doesnt-even-cut-it, complementary, college, cliffhanger-syndrome, cute-and-cuddly, darker-than-my-soul, fantastical-creatures, fantasy-me-up, hype-is-real, i-like-big-books-and-i-cannot-lie, it-hurts, lgbtq, magic, my-heart-is-on-the-carpet, prose-before-hoes, swallowed-it-whole, young-adult
review:
“There was something else afoot that October, something else stretching and straining and panting, but it was mostly as of yet unseen.��

Call Down the Hawk didn't hit like a freight train, nor did it call for any fantastical shocks... The true magic of this novel is the fact that it is a subtle triumph. Stiefvater wrote a tour de force that caused me to lose my breath through its soft complexities.
_______________

Tamquam, Alter Idem
Without giving much away, Call Down the Hawk explores the world of dreamers as well as the dreamed. It presents a fresh new cast of characters (including the Lynch brothers) that you'll both love, hate and hate to love.

�� Our first main character, Ronan Lynch discovers that his dreams have been infiltrated by a voice that wants him to both understand his capabilities as well as the world around him.
�� Jordan Hennessy is struggling with herself, she's not living a life that's her own and if there is a single character that you should begin this story knowing nothing about, she is the one.
�� Carmen Farooq-Lane is a huntress that tracks both dreamers and their visionaries, hers is a tale of the end times.
�� Declan Lynch wins your heart by stealing it first. He has a handful of lies, a handful of truths and very interesting shoes.
�� Matthew Lynch was made to hug. He possibly has the shortest page time, but has a story to tell nevertheless, and I feel like we are going to be seeing a lot more of him in the coming sequel.

“No idea sounded like a good idea when you had only one shot left.��

These characters made the entire book for me. It would be hard to talk about CDTH without mentioning The Raven Cycle, so I'm going to get it over with now. Maggie Stiefvater has a talent with her characters, each so unique and tragic in their own way. I loved Ronan during TRC and if possible, I love him even more so after this book. It was wonderful to be in Ronan's mind and understand his conflicts and desires throughout the novel. There is seemingly nothing better than the dialogue between Ronan Lynch and his bird, Chainsaw. (Except for maybe the dialogue between Ronan Lynch and his boyfriend, Adam Parrish).

"Tamquam,�� said Adam.
"Wait," said Ronan.
"Tamquam,�� he said again, gently.
"Alter idem," Ronan said, and found himself alone.

The character dynamics within the different relationships were so cleverly written. Alongside the development and growth you see from start to finish is captivating to say the least. This book is not without its flaws but I feel like none of them warranted a four-star rating. A caveat; I will say that although the character engagement is alike TRC - the similarities stop there, the atmosphere of CTDH is very different. The world of dreamers is desperately darker than the world in which a group of teenagers hunt down a dead welsh king. The way the plot is handled and the pacing is also very different, so my thought would be to go into this with the understanding that it's completely separate to that of TRC.

“You think it's hard for you to hear the dreams when you're far away from your mountains. From our ley line. From your forest. from Lindenmere. That's not right. It's not wrong, but it's only half right. It's hard for the dreams to hear you.��

This book made me ache, laugh, pine and hope... so much hope. I want to put another cautionary note that although Adam and Ronan have moments in CDTH. This novel is not in anyway focused on their relationship. Adam is a large part of Ronan's life but they're now on different paths going different directions in an effort to come to themselves. But this is not to say that they aren't still the two soft cinnamon rolls desperately in love with each other. Also, for those that are expecting ride or die friendships like the gang in TRC, this is not that either. It's darker and more dire... it focuses on a very different dynamic. I fell in love with the slow-building in this book because of that reason. If anything, Maggie Stiefvater just proved to me that she can write more than one trick.

“You are made of dreams and this world is not for you.��

Another major contributor to my adoration of this book was Stiefvater's writing. To give you an idea, I read the prologue and everything inside me felt at peace but electric at the same time. Her writing is lyrical and the effect is somewhat of a trance; I could not put this book down. I flew through the pages and was consumed with the need to know what happens!! In an effort to try and encapsulate what a gem of a book this was;

What it was: the interconnected lives of a bunch of misfits, some who dream, some who have come from dreams and some who want the world to stop dreaming.
What we didn't know we needed in life: For Parsifal Bauer to reach peak Parsifalness.
What we got:
ronan and declan making a routine list,
a room full of murder crabs,
a Lynch falling in love,
a black market for weird fantasy objects,
ronan being soft for adam and adam being adam,
the many frustrating exchanges of business cards and,
a return to Lindenmere.

“We fool ourselves better than anyone when we're afraid.��

Side Note: woke up to Maggie retweeting my graphics and I'm not okay....

Pre-Review
plans: cancelled
sweatpants: on
alex: excited af
ronan: lynch

watch me finish this in a whole ass day.

Blood Heir (Blood Heir Trilogy, #1)

Mon, 16 Dec 2019 07:32:45 -0800

author: Amélie Wen Zhao
name: Alex �� Comets and Comments ��
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2019
rating: 2
read at: 2019/11/27
date added: 2019/12/16
shelves: abuse, adventure, alex-rolled-her-eyes-way-too-often, better-late-than-never, cliffhanger-syndrome, darker-than-my-soul, enemies-to-lovers, fairytale-retelling, fantastical-creatures, fantasy-me-up, magic, no-in-every-language-in-the-cosmos, not-memorable, thin-line-between-love-and-hate, unlikeable-characters, unpopular-opinion, war, what-the-actual-fuck, young-adult
review:
"You focused on the battle and lost sight of the war.��

The first three chapters were a solid 5 stars, everything after felt like reading a completely different book.
_______________

This was not it, chief.
Firstly, this review is not going to talk about or explain the controversy behind this book... If you want to know why it got pulled and then set to be re-published, there are so many great reviews and articles out there that explain the situation. All this review is going to be is just that... a review.

Sooo... it happened again. I got excited over something and ended up severely disappointed. Honestly, a lot of the issues I had with this book are similar to the issues I had with Wicked Saints. I was really just bored out of my mind.

Blood Heir is promising. Its premise and magic system is really refreshing (although it has very similar inklings of the Grishaverse), I think had the execution been much better, this would have been a great new take on YA Fantasy. Unfortunately, it wasn't.

"My name is Anastacya Mikhailov. Except it wasn’t. Anastacya Mikhailov was the name of the Crown Princess of Cyrilia, drowned eleven moons past in her attempt to escape execution for murder and treason against the Cyrilian Crown. Anastacya Mikhailov was a ghost and a monster who did not, and should not, exist."

I'm going to start off with what I enjoyed, because I did actually enjoy a couple things. The writing in this book was really phenomenal at times and if it weren't highly repetitive in its nature, this might have even been a three star read. I also really enjoyed the action in this book. The main reason I kept reading though was because of the narrative dealing with human trafficking. It was the main reason why I picked it up this book. I think if anything deserved for this not to be a DNF, it was this one fact. Okay, moving on.

“This isn’t a revolution. This is a massacre."

My first issue with this book was the characters. I did not like a single character. Everyone just felt unpleasant and unkind. Ramson started off a jerk, and although I could see how the author intended for their to be development in his character, he ended up as a jerk too. Ana was immature and often made hasty decisions - this is a trait that I absolutely cannot stand with main characters. I mean... give me a powerful female lead that isn't a clutz, a damsel in distress or childish and you'll have me hooked. Every character that came along irritated me in some way.

The predictability was at an all time high, folks. I mean... I made notes on my kindle on what I think would happen to certain characters or situations or "twists," just so I could play a game with myself later on to see if I got it right. I predicted 90% of the events correctly in one way or another. Also, the fact that I took that amount of time out just goes to say how bored I was throughout reading. I wasn't hooked or reaching for my kindle every chance I got.

The next major aspect that pissed me off was the flashbacks and character history became too much. What makes a great Fantasy for me? If an author manages to embed the character's backstory and "reasons why" within the narrative. There were entire chapters full of only flashbacks... I didn't find this necessary in the world building and although some of them were key to understanding the motives behind characteristics of the story, all of them were drawn out.

The pacing. This was the internet explorer of YA fantasy books that I have read this year. Was that a tad harsh? Yes. Am I going to take it back? No. Everything in this book felt like it took forever to reach there.

While the writing in this book was great, the dialogue was certainly not. There were a lot of cliche statements, tropes between characters that have been repeatedly done before. Some conversations were so jarring and uncomfortable, I visibly cringed. My last issue was the chemistry (or lackthereof) between the two main characters. I didn't root for them, it felt forced to me.

Overall, this book was meant to be amazing to me. I was anticipating it for a while and I just could not get passed a couple things. It felt like the entire novel was a case "yeah this is okay, but...."

The images above are taken from an art account, and other than the edit, credit to talented person.

Blood & Honey (Serpent & Dove, #2)

Mon, 16 Dec 2019 07:28:37 -0800

author: Shelby Mahurin
name: Alex �� Comets and Comments ��
average rating: 3.50
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/12/16
shelves: to-read, most-anticipated, fantasy-me-up, high-fantasy
review:
All I need is for Reid, Lou and Big Titty Liddy to be okay.

Serpent And Dove: ★★★★��

Serpent & Dove (Serpent & Dove, #1)

Wed, 11 Dec 2019 07:29:16 -0800

author: Shelby Mahurin
name: Alex �� Comets and Comments ��
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2019
rating: 5
read at: 2019/12/02
date added: 2019/12/11
shelves: 2019-favorites, abuse, adventure, all-time-favorites, beautiful-doesnt-even-cut-it, better-late-than-never, cliffhanger-syndrome, cute-and-cuddly, double-pov, enemies-to-lovers, family-power, fantastical-creatures, fantasy-me-up, forbidden-fruit, high-fantasy, hype-is-real, i-like-big-books-and-i-cannot-lie, its-getting-hot-in-here, jealousy, magic, my-heart-is-on-the-carpet, never-forget, romance, prose-before-hoes, sexual-tension, swallowed-it-whole, thin-line-between-love-and-hate, trigger-warning, arranged-marriage, made-me-laugh
review:
"It doesn’t end in death. It ends in hope."

Let me tell you about my favourite NA fantasy book of 2019.
_______________

A Story About A Witch Getting Hitched But Much More.
Serpent and Dove stole my heart in so many ways and all I want to do is go back and read it all over again. This lush tale full of magic and intrigue is wildly imaginative but soft at the same time and if you're a fan of romance + fantasy, I highly recommend trying this!

The sales pitch;
- enemies to lovers
- kickass heroines
- lovable side characters (ansel is the floofliest cinnamon roll)
- THE ONE BED TROPE��
- witches and witchhunters
- one badass song about a lady named Big Titty Liddy.

“I know if you aren’t swearing or singing about well-endowed barmaids, something is wrong.��

I honestly inhaled this and if it weren't for actually having to adult, I would have finished it in one sitting. Before I get into the crooks of my review, let's meet our two main characters;

Lou:

Reid:

If there's one thing about this book that completely sold me was the fact that I loved so many characters. Especially these two! The characters in this book had me crying, laughing and turning every page like an addict. Lou stayed true to herself throughout the entire book and was never sorry for being a badass female! I enjoyed her company right from the beginning and it was such a journey to watch her story unfold. Enter Reid... Reid was the horniest mess all encapsulated within the perfect gentleman. He was everything, to be honest. For all those people that mentioned their dynamic is so similar to Nina and Matthias from Six of Crows... you're absolutely right.

“You really think I could knock two fully grown men unconscious?��
My husband’s reply came instantaneously. “Yes.��

Their banter was off the charts, and their chemistry practically flew off the page. Because this book was told in dual POV's, I thought it was going to be a problem to distinguish two separate voices, but that was not the case. Both these characters had such a wonderful character development throughout the story and even better, was seeing them grow together. I do have to say that this is completely a New Adult book, and not a YA. Reid and Lou definielty get hot and heavy ;)

“When you weren’t in bed, I thought maybe—maybe you’d—��
“Left?�� I said shrewdly. “It’s still on the agenda.��

For those who know my reviews, you know that I often fall into the overhype trap. I get very excited about books that have very high ratings and come in highly recommended, but then end up disappointed. I think I've finally found the winner, folks. The world-building (a lavish french renaissance-esque setting with a hub full of of illegal magic, a pleasure house with a mysterious lady, and the men of the church) was fantastic, and embedded within the story rather than separated by info-dumps. There were so many plot twists and character arcs that I was invested in more than just the romance between Reid and Lou, the story itself was fan-fucking-tastic. Truly such a magnificent debut! It was so easy to love this book.

“Can you put something on?�� He waved a hand in my direction, the other firmly pressed against his eyes. “I can’t talk to you when you’re sitting there—sitting there—��
“N��?��
His teeth clamped together with an audible snap. “Yes.��

I didn't want this story to end to put it plainly. I loved it so much that I'm just going to ignore the randomness of the last couple of chapters (hehe). One shoutout that I would also like to mention is the fact that this book had LGBT characters but didn't make it a big deal or put any spotlight on them. It was briefly mentioned as a passing comment that Coco had female lovers and then when the fucking Prince of the kingdom all but asked if Reid and Lou wanted to join Coco and him on a sexcapade??! Hell yes to queer characters that don't have "being queer" as their major character trait.

This is going on my all time favourites shelf and I need the second book yesterday.

Ninth House (Alex Stern, #1)

Wed, 11 Dec 2019 07:23:05 -0800

author: Leigh Bardugo
name: Alex �� Comets and Comments ��
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at: 2019/11/10
date added: 2019/12/11
shelves: fantasy-me-up, adult, most-anticipated, buddy-read, dnf, paranormal, abuse, darker-than-my-soul, fantastical-creatures, mental-health, unpopular-opinion, unlikeable-characters, what-the-actual-fuck
review:
"That was what magic did. It revealed the heart of who you’d been before life took away your belief in the possible. It gave back the world all lonely children longed for. "

-dnf @30%-
I don't think I have ever been more disappointed in myself for not being able to love this book. Leigh Bardugo continues to be my queen of fantasy, this one was just a complete and utter miss for me.
_______________

*all the sighs*
I'm still not certain that this review will get all my thoughts across. I'm also very blatantly stating this now... because I DNFed this book, this review isn't going to be able to provide any summaries, commentaries etc etc. It's partially why I didn't give it a rating; firstly because I couldn't even get halfway and secondly, because I think I might return to Ninth House at a future date. I want to give this book more of a chance but as it stands now, this was not for me.

I've read a lot of people opinions on how it gets better and I'm holding on to that for the next time I try. A caveat though; this book and everything about it (aside from it being Fantasy) really shouldn't be compared to the Grishaverse or Leigh's previous books. They are intended for two different types of demographics and Ninth House deals with some very heavy "adult" themes.

To start things off (very bluntly), I got bored. There was nothing that kept me turning the pages other than self-determination and it came to a point where even that wasn't enough. I was doing that thing where you read a paragraph and then read it again (3 times) because you realize you weren't paying any attention at all...I found the pacing in this book to be excruciatingly slow. Nothing significant enough was happening that had me at the edge and the "mysterious" elements didn't hold enough suspense or warrant excitement from me. Again, this opinion is simply my own and it might have been a fact of picking this book at the wrong time.

Another key thing I noticed that caused -several- naps whilst reading was the writing style. The writing in this book is very narrative, and while it's not without merit, it simply didn't captivate me. I felt like it was telling me, rather than showing me and I craved for emotional description from the characters. Which leads me to another note...I got really weary of Darlington. This is going to be very problematic because A LOT of people place him as the winning character of this book. Still, I found myself leaning towards wanting Alex's chapters more than his. Nothing about Darlington made me anticipate meeting him...

There were way too many infor-dumps and if I had to sum up my reading experience, it would be a quote directly from this book:
"You start out excited, and by page two you realize it’s all a lot of words and not much drama." When I saw that, I felt like I was being called out to be honest (drama in this case meaning something actually, yknow... HaPpEnIng). I needed to stop reading before it put me in a slump, so I did. On another note though, Amazon Studios is going to and THAT, I'm looking forward to. It might just push me to read it before I watch it!

Buddy Read with this cutie although, I don't really know if it counts because she's being a trooper and still reading and I'm now just waving the moral support flag.

pre-review
do i have a considerable amount of books that i already need to read? would i drop (quote me on this) everything for this? if leigh bardugo wrote a 100,000 word essay on the growing strategies of cacti, would i also do the same? yes, yes and also yes.

"By the time Alex managed to get the blood out of her good wool coat, it was too warm to wear it. Spring had come on grudgingly; pale-blue mornings failed to deepen, turning instead to moist, sullen afternoons, and stubborn frost lined the road in high, dirty meringues....
....That was in the spring. But the trouble had begun on a night in the full dark of winter, when Tara Hutchins died and Alex still thought she might get away with everything."

The Wives

Wed, 11 Dec 2019 07:21:11 -0800

author: Tarryn Fisher
name: Alex �� Comets and Comments ��
average rating: 3.64
book published: 2019
rating: 3
read at: 2019/08/24
date added: 2019/12/11
shelves: arc, psychological-thriller, abuse, alex-rolled-her-eyes-way-too-often, darker-than-my-soul, haunting, guilty-pleasures, mental-health, psychopaths-what, romantic-thriller, standalone, trigger-warning, unpopular-opinion, unlikeable-characters, what-the-actual-fuck
review:
"It’s all too perfect, I think. When things are that perfect, something is wrong."

Tarryn Fisher is and always will be one of my all time favourite authors because of The Opportunist. Whilst I am a big fan of her romance novels, The Wives was my first attempt at reading one of her psychological thrillers. This review is going to be slightly problematic because this book was both a mindfuck and a clusterfuck at the same time.

_______________

Dark and Unwavering

My first tip for this book would be to dive in not knowing much. Simply because everything hits ten times harder that way. The plot of TW is quite simple on the surface level, but as each chapter unfolds, you start questioning and doubting nearly every character. The deeper I fell into this story, the darker it became, the more I started feeling uncomfortable and uneasy. It pulled me in right from the start and every time I put it down, I wanted to pick it back up again.

Fisher portrays a complex commentary on the starving feeling of jealousy and envy through this novel that is unparalleled with anything I have ever read before. The storyline dealt with topics such as polygamy, manipulation, insecurities and abuse (not necessarily in that order). It was refreshing to see a different type of suspense, wherein the story grabs you with the obvious more than the mystery. I struggled with the writing at the start, I found the structure to be fragmented and the flow, jarring. It was a lot of "this then I did that then this..." but I soon adapted to it to find that it surprisingly suited the story very well.

"Something’s going on and I feel like I’m the only person in this marriage who doesn’t know what."

The main reason I'm giving this 3 stars is mainly because the latter end of the book lost me slightly. I felt like the twist could have been executed and developed better. The angle it took became very dysfunctional and it felt like the story was trying to squeeze the mindfuck towel dry. So much so that it soon became a clusterfuck. It felt like I was trying to keep up with every characters arc and story involvement that I was lost in the crowd. I also detached from our heroine, Thursday quite often. She was a very dichotomous character and throughout the story, I wanted her to stand up to her opinions and beliefs but she kept letting others treat her badly. There were times where she did in fact come through and push against the "doormat" stereotype but it was always met with a contradiction in her personality.

I do recommend this to anyone that wants to dip their toes into psychological thrillers, or even the regular readers in the genre. I would not throw caution to the wind however because this story can get very dark and gritty at the best of times. It hurt me at times because I empathized with Thursday's plight to its core, I found myself rooting for her situation even though I had my conflicts with her. I wish I could say that the ending left me completley satisfied but I felt like it was a very rushed ending and the story only unfolded in the last 20%. Beyond this, I enjoyed myself and definitely need a light read now.

The quotes in this review are taken from an ARC and are subject to change preceding final publication.

Flip Trick

Thu, 05 Dec 2019 15:36:16 -0800

author: Amo Jones
name: Alex �� Comets and Comments ��
average rating: 3.84
book published: 2018
rating: 1
read at: 2018/07/19
date added: 2019/12/05
shelves: arc, romance, alex-rolled-her-eyes-way-too-often, abuse, childhood-lovers, contemporary-romance, dnf, don-t-think-with-your-dick, double-pov, forbidden-fruit, friends-to-lovers, high-school-drama-rama, no-in-every-language-in-the-cosmos, pop-that-cherry, standalone, the-one-that-got-away, trigger-warning, unlikeable-characters, unpopular-opinion, what-the-actual-fuck, weird, young-love
review:
“Because I want you. I want all of you. I want to fuck you until you can’t walk or talk, or fucking see straight. I want to ruin you, break you, and make you bleed so I can make it up to you again. I want to fuck you so hard that I leave an imprint of my cock inside of you, so everyone after me knows that you’re mine.��

Is there such a thing as too much angst?

Please Note: This review contains spoilers and please do not read it, if you plan on picking this book up in the future <3

____________
Recipe for Disaster (Alex Style):
1/3 cup cheating
2 cups of slut shaming
45ml of unlikeable characters
1tsp. of a decent character (optional, as this will disappear towards the end of the process)
1000grams of unnecessary angst.

Cooks Note: Do not add any chemistry to this recipe.

~Mix Well and Serve Cool~

Flip Trick
This might have been one of my most anticipated releases of this year. When I say that, I mean from the day I saw a teaser on Facebook, till the day I received my arc - I was constantly thinking about Maddox and Amethyst.

I dropped everything to read this and I was certain that it was going to be a winner in every sense of the matter. This book actually made me realize that maybe, starting from next year - I shall only review the books that I loved and want to rave about, because I know how hard authors work on writing, editing and going through the whole publication methodology of releasing a novel. I hate giving low reviews because it feels like I'm throwing bad energy at a book that didn't work for me, but could potentially work for many others.

The last part of this book was so unnecessary and there was so much drama that floated around, I couldn't keep up with all the story arcs. Then, there was the fact that every single member of their family thought it was dandy to just FUCK YOUR STEP-SISTER!??

Maybe, it's also because I'm reading Game of Thrones simultaneously - but I think even that was the least of my triggers with this book. There was a lot of time jumping and adding in information that had no meaning. It all felt a bit overwhelming for me.

That being said, this really wasn't my cup of tea. There were so many no-go zones that it constantly danced on, I felt like DNFing... but I read on.

Let me start with my first issue:

The Characters.
From the start of this book, I disliked Leila.
It started with her being selfish, which then trailed into her practically pressing Amethyst to lose her virginity... why is it so wrong for a girl to be a virgin and not want to have sex with a random stranger?!?

“Your fortress? Well, sorry to say, but I’m going to need your 'fortress' to be trampled in a lot more than once every six months, not to mention after one month of seeing a guy. Loosen up, Ame! Trust me. The best feeling ever.��

I thought she was a really bad influence on Ame and after feeling a bit of euphoria from some chapters, she really dragged me down.

“Ame, it was a one-night stand. Maddox has them probably every weekend with girls who he deems worthy of him.�� she rolls her eyes, and I sense something there. Maybe there’s something she isn’t telling me."

Next up, is the range from Amethyst to the men in this book.

1) Since when is it okay to slut-shame? And whore-shame?? Especially in a book where the author controls what comes out of the characters 'mouths'?

2)
The fear of not knowing if she’s going to remember is damn near crippling. What if she doesn’t want me? What if she doesn’t allow me to show her? What would I do then? I’d lock her in my basement and make her, that’s what.

I don't know what to comment about that. I really don't.

3)
“I don’t know. We pushed and pulled for a bit, but I can’t deny that there’s a bond with him. It’s easy, and not complicated. He has a bad reputation on campus, you know, womanizer and because he beats people’s faces in for a living, it only adds to his bullshit appeal.�� I suck in a deep breath. “But he’s not any of those people when he’s with me, which is what makes all the difference. You know me, Dad. He’s not my type at all.�� Dad quirks an eyebrow. “I know. But maybe this is what you needed. Those nerd boys you messed around with were little fucks.��

4) The only character I liked was Talon. He had an open relationship with a girl, and in the last part of the book this is what we find out:

"Then he tied me to the bed and made me sit and watch while he fucked another girl. I kneeled, gagged, mascara running down my face, ropes tied around my wrist while he fucked this girl senseless all while watching me. I cried, because I loved him, and we hadn’t swung or been with other people in almost a year. This felt like cheating, and it was. He broke my heart when he fucked her savagely..."

It's sad because I really wanted to love the shit out of this book. That cover is gorgeous and this author is kind and caring to her readers. Not to mention, she has another series that is so hyped that I might try reading that instead because that seems amazing too!! O

The Fascinators

Tue, 03 Dec 2019 13:34:52 -0800

author: Andrew Eliopulos
name: Alex �� Comets and Comments ��
average rating: 3.27
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/12/03
shelves: to-read
review:

I Dare You (Dare, #1)

Tue, 03 Dec 2019 09:13:20 -0800

author: Shantel Tessier
name: Alex �� Comets and Comments ��
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2018
rating: 1
read at: 2018/07/15
date added: 2019/12/03
shelves: alex-rolled-her-eyes-way-too-often, better-late-than-never, contemporary-romance, darker-than-my-soul, dnf, don-t-think-with-your-dick, double-pov, erotica, high-school-drama-rama, never-again, no-in-every-language-in-the-cosmos, psychopaths-what, romance, standalone, thin-line-between-love-and-hate, trigger-warning, try-again-later, unlikeable-characters, unpopular-opinion, what-the-actual-fuck
review:
"My father says I was born a fighter. He would say if a man can’t use his hands, then what is he good for? The only difference is that my father pays to use someone else’s hands."

DNF at 37%
I guess this book just goes to show how much characters can make or break a story.

____________

╭∩��(-��-)╭∩��

When I saw the blurb for I Dare You, I got excited and like usual - I started hyping the book up in my head before I even started reading it. I love the dark romance genre and this being the first of a new author I was trying out, I thought it was a win both ways. Both those things are risks that I love taking.

In all fairness, the plot was the least of my problems with this. In fact, had it not been for the plot, I wouldn't have even read on to the part that I did.

When Austin Lowes arrives in town in effort to get away from her mother - her homecoming welcome gift is bearing witness to cold blooded murder. Conducted none other by our main hero, Cole Reynolds! Cole seemingly hears Austin and then hunts her down to threaten her into silence. ONLY WAIT! Austin is actually pretty?? Cole is actually hot for a murderer???
...
So the only obvious answer (come on, guys) is to.... ASK AUSTIN TO JOIN HIS LITTLE MERRY MEN TRAVELING BAND OF FUCKING PSYCHOPATHS.
...
ONLY WAIT! They're all good looking!

Even though I say that with malice and mischief, I really did like the sound of it - no matter how awkwardly plotted and unbelievably unrealistic it was. What pulled me in was the promise of some hot scenes and even hotter swimmer ~~men~~ boys.

“These waters are infested with sharks. And you are bleeding.�� She looks over my shoulder at Cole, then back at me. “But there are worse ways to die.��

┌∩��(◕◡��)┌∩��

Austin and Cole.

I cannot think about them without screaming. To put it very bluntly, I hated Cole and Austin annoyed me. I felt zero chemistry and it all felt too forced and unreal. If there is one thing I really dislike that is repeatedly accomplished by dark romance authors is ensuring that their girls are pushovers.

The concept of this book was senseless and structure-less to begin with, but then sprinkle two main characters that absolutely made me cringe and want to throw my kindle across the room. There was not a chapter that went by where I didn't highlight dialogue or a quote on my kindle and note how awful it was. It would be bad readership if I stroke out this author after having read one novel, so if there is a time when I see another book that they write that peaks my interest - I will pick it up. However, I Dare You and me were like repelling magnets and I can’t get myself to pick up where I left this and give it another chance.

“He’s a manwhore, don’t get me wrong, but he is very discreet about who he takes to bed"

Would Like to Meet

Sun, 01 Dec 2019 09:53:52 -0800

author: Rachel Winters
name: Alex �� Comets and Comments ��
average rating: 3.68
book published: 2019
rating: 3
read at: 2019/11/14
date added: 2019/12/01
shelves: arc, complementary, contemporary-romance, cute-and-cuddly, enemies-to-lovers, friends-to-lovers, guilty-pleasures, hidden-gems, made-me-laugh, netgalley, romance, romantic-comedy, second-chances, slow-burn, standalone, thin-line-between-love-and-hate, swallowed-it-whole, unlikeable-characters, disability
review:
“It’s funny to think,�� Maria chipped in, “but if this was an actual rom‑com, you’d end up with the arrogant writer who, it would turn out, was only using his massive ego to hide an endearing lack of confidence.�� There was a moment of stunned silence in which we both stared at her. “I’m kidding! You’d never fall for that cockhat.��

This was such an amazing book to curl up with. A feel-good, laugh-out-loud, insane romcom with a whole bunch of meet cutes that'll have you constantly turning the page!

_______________

Made for Netflix
Before I start on my actual review of this book, I just want to say that this has all the ingredients for a perfectly unrealistic Netflix romcom that would be a complete hit! All the while I was reading this, I could just imagine it going from page to screen...

So, this was actually really enjoyable! I thought it was cute and inherently light enough to make me fly through it in more or less a couple days! I think it's perfect that this book is set to release in the month of December because it would be such a fluffy Christmas-time, Holiday-esque read... (even though it has nothing to do with either. There is a passing christmas scene, and that's pretty much it.) But, it's the atmosphere that had me reading this and gobbling it up like chocolate! It truly felt like a silly, insanely dramatized romantic comedy that you would see on the big screen. It was comical and didn't take itself too seriously, so I will definitely be reading this author again!

“No, she is not okay. For sodding’s sake, Janet, pass me a moist towelette.��

Rachel Winters delivers a really fun, hilarious and event-packed book that had me loving Evie Summers by the minute. Evie has to recreate a bunch of famous meet-cutes in order to keep her job. So begins a classic tale of awkward moments, adorable side-characters, class A dialogue and "love interests" that had going from cringes to smiles. The humor in this was very tongue-in-cheek and so many bizzare things ended up happening. Evie stayed true to herself from start to finish, and I loved seeing a female lead that didn't have that "damsel in distress" characteristic that most romcoms lean towards.

While I found it really addictive, there were some elements that I struggled with. Notably, there were A LOT of cliches in this book. From the gay best friend to the group of girls as support and even the single hot dad (which isn't to say that I didn't love Annette... she had my heart and soul). The ending was unique and although I didn't see it coming, some scenes lacked the bravado that I enjoyed during the first half of the book. The magic slowly simmered down towards the end, and everything felt fragmented and rushed. Yet, this is not to say that I didn't really like the "lesson" this book teaches, I did! I found the message behind this book deeper than it let on and I wasn't expecting that at all.

[spoilers removed]

Someday, Someday

Wed, 27 Nov 2019 05:52:54 -0800

author: Emma Scott
name: Alex �� Comets and Comments ��
average rating: 4.39
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2019/11/23
date added: 2019/11/27
shelves: arc, abuse, beautiful-doesnt-even-cut-it, contemporary-romance, cute-and-cuddly, darker-than-my-soul, disability, double-pov, forbidden-fruit, friends-to-lovers, haunting, hype-is-real, i-like-big-books-and-i-cannot-lie, insta-love-bug, it-hurts, its-getting-hot-in-here, lgbtq, m-m, mental-health, money-money-money, my-heart-is-on-the-carpet, never-forget, netgalley, prose-before-hoes, romance, sexual-tension, second-chances, slow-burn, standalone, tears-are-everywhere, trigger-warning
review:
"Every minute you’re alive is a second chance to start over. I honor my past, but I don’t live in it. I choose this moment instead. Right here."

Siri, how do I put my heart back together after Emma Scott so elegantly broke it in two?

_______________

I'm not crying, you're crying.

This book.
This. heartbreakingly. beautiful. book.
Emma Scott achieved the impossible with this book.

I want this book to be in every high school library. I want this book handed out at Pride. I want this book to be read by every single person that thinks that they're alone in love.

This book is ugly. It's heavy and more times than not, you feel like you can't carry it. It's tough to chew and harder to swallow. It made me wince and cringe and I had to put my kindle away many many times. But this book is necessary. It took many different forms of hate and showed how there is only one universal form of love.

Emma Scott will always be one of my favourite authors. This book is no exception and only deepened my love for her writing and aptitude for storytelling. Except, with this book - it wasn't really a story because the things that happen in this book are still happening. Someday, Someday deals with the plight of love. It deals with Max Kaufman who was thrown out of his house by his family for being found with a boy. Then, Silas Marsh who at a very young age was sent to sexuality conversion therapy where he was tortured and terrorized. It portrays the destructive and futile values of homophobia whilst dealing with people who are undergoing immense mental battles. It shows how Max and Silas find each other as recovering drug addicts but mostly, how they find themselves through each other.

So yes. Whatever you're imagining when I say that this book is heavy and deals with topics that are necessary, double it.

"Don’t let go. Hold on and you’ll be safe. Let go and you’ll never be the same again."

I think this was the toughest out of all Emma's books that I have read. So many times during reading, I found myself sobbing. Because through all the animosity, hatred and trauma within this book, it is nothing if not a story of forgiveness. I struggled with this book a lot, in all honesty. It's very hard to focus on a love story, a romance between two people who have such tragic histories. The narrative we were given was not light in any way and then we got these screenshots of Max and Silas slowly falling in love. But by then end, I realized that, that was the entire point.

It goes to say that I'm only a reader, and a very small drop in the ocean that is Emma's Entourage but I am so, so fucking proud of Emma Scott because of this book.

Someday, Someday is a heart-wrenching tour de force that steals the air right from your lungs. It's ambitiously driven by hope and after hurting you and ripping you apart, it builds you back up again. I'm proud of Emma because no matter how painful and upsetting Silas and Max's story was, she refused to make it pretty, because that wouldn't be the truth. That's why it's her most beautiful book to date.

My heart hurt for so many people (Eddie deserves nothing more than a hug and the best life). My only slight problem was that I found some things (mostly dialogue) to be jarring and occasionally insensitive. Although the story started off somewhat slow, I was captivated a third way in and then it became unputdownable. I can so safely say though that Emma writes the stories that I wish I had the chance to experience for the first time, every time I re-read them.

Trigger Warnings: Abuse, Homophobia, Substance Abuse, Addiction, Implied Suicide, Torture, Prostitution

A Curse So Dark and Lonely (Cursebreakers, #1)

Tue, 26 Nov 2019 17:52:01 -0800

author: Brigid Kemmerer
name: Alex �� Comets and Comments ��
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/11/26
shelves: currently-reading
review:

Darling Rose Gold

Sat, 23 Nov 2019 08:54:26 -0800

author: Stephanie Wrobel
name: Alex �� Comets and Comments ��
average rating: 3.71
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/11/23
shelves: to-read
review:

In the Unlikely Event

Sat, 23 Nov 2019 08:45:00 -0800

author: L.J. Shen
name: Alex �� Comets and Comments ��
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2019
rating: 3
read at: 2019/11/19
date added: 2019/11/23
shelves: most-anticipated, romance, contemporary-romance, alex-rants-shelf, angst-with-a-capital-a, cute-and-cuddly, dirty-talk, don-t-think-with-your-dick, double-pov, enemies-to-lovers, guilty-pleasures, insta-love-bug, its-getting-hot-in-here, jealousy, made-me-laugh, money-money-money, new-adult, pop-that-cherry, romantic-comedy, second-chances, sexual-tension, standalone, swallowed-it-whole, the-one-that-got-away, thin-line-between-love-and-hate, trigger-warning
review:
“Can you please stop being so beautiful and real and alive all over my house like you own it or something?��

I finished this in a day and now the bags under my eyes are Gucci.

_______________

A Note From Alex (after reading all the notes in this book, especially the chocolate one).

Whenever I finish a book, ŷ�� (my number one cheerleader) always sends me an email telling me that I have actually finished the book (as if I didn't know it myself, you'd think). But this time when GR sent me this;

I felt like ŷ�� just knew (call it kismet) that this book and I are undergoing some challenges. Initially, I gave this four stars but upon looking back, I'm sticking with my 3 star rating. This is honestly the hardest rating I have ever had to debate. Because, if I'm being honest with myself... I probably enjoyed this a lot but I know that I shouldn't have.

Here's the thing. This book was fucking addicting. I burned lasagna while reading this book... I didn't hear the oven ding and then my lasagna burnt. So in order to truly know this book's rating for me; I'm asking myself now: "What it worth burning the lasagna, Alex? Was it worth having to scrape all that cheesy goodness into the bin and feel immense guilt whilst doing so?"

Here's the dilemma. During the time, yes. It was very worth it. Now? Not so much.

In The Unlikely Event is something so different to what Shen normally puts out that I couldn't help but pick it up. It's not really a "christmas" romance, but it's a winter one. We follow Mal and Rory's story of love, loss and heartbreak. It was comical and didn't take itself seriously at all, and I loved it even more because of that. It was hot, captivating and so nail-bitingly, page turningly addictive that I really didn't get much sleep.

I loved the different narratives and I found myself laughing out loud during some moments. That is also to say though, that this book is not all comedy. It deals with really sensitive issues and in true LJ fashion, the angst is so unbearably thick, it's better than any soap opera or reality TV show I've ever watched. It's also safe to say, that I unfortunately can no longer look at chocolate the same way. This is not a bad or a good thing. Just different.

The banter between Rory and Mal was probably my favourite aspect of this book. Also, if there is any one romance writer that can take the same trope (enemies to lovers) in all her books but still manage to keep me captivated... it's this one. I rooted for so many different people in this book and although it drained me when I came to the end chapter, I felt like I went on a really long holiday.

"Want to know if you love someone? Watch them suffer and see how much it tears you apart."

But then why do I also feel like I wasted such a great (it was mediocre, I fuck up cereal on my best days), awesomely-dished lasagna? For one thing, it's always heartbreaking when you have to compost carbs. But, for reasons more suited to this review; this book frustrated the fucking lights out of me.

Yes, we already know that Shen writes up the most problematic, toxic and dysfunctional relationships but still manages to make you hooked over wanting to know what happens. I knew this going in, I came prepped for the assholes and the triggers. Just to let you know, the hero in this book is manipulative, conniving and so rude for a good part of the book. The heroine is also frustratingly juvenile and oblivious to so much. Half the time, I wished Rory would have just demanded to understand what was going on. Regardless, Rory and Mal end up being sickly cute and this book definitely amped up the steam.

But I'm going to lay some other things out. Spoilers Ahead

❄︎ The relationship in this book is based on insta-love. This usually never works for me but I looked past it in this book.
❄︎ The amount of miscommunication in this book could give an airline company's customer service rep a run for their fucking money.
❄︎ If LJ Shen ever writes a book with 100% women supporting women, I might actually slip into a coma. There is so much animosity between female relationships in this book that just hurt my heart immensely.
❄︎ Something that would have been so mindblowingly unique is if the topic of "loving someone whilst being in a relationship" was tackled with no cheating involved. It was so obvious that I actually thought that no one would cheat in this book. I was so wrong.
❄︎ Another thing I really wished for was for Callum (Rory's boyfriend) not to be villainized in order to cop out of the relationship. I cant stress this enough but breaking up with someone because you don't have feelings for them anymore is a very valid reason. I wish authors didn't villainize the significant other in order to "make up" for the fact that they are being broken up with because suddenly if they're not the best person, then it's okay for the MC to move on and be with someone else.
❄︎ This last one is probably the most important one. There is a rape scene in this book, and I won't put this section under a "hide spoiler" thing because this is an important trigger warning to anyone that is going to read this book. I wish it was given as a caveat in the book itself but *sigh.* The rape scene in this book needed to be dealt with so much more care and importance, rather than just being an event that occurs in the storyline.

Through all those problems... I still soldiered on. LJ Shen is really truly my biggest guilty pleasure. I know that all of the tropes and aspects of her books are so fucking problematic and controversial, but I still read this like a fanatic. This book is far from perfect but I swallowed it entirely.

Pretty Reckless (All Saints High, #1)

Fri, 15 Nov 2019 17:39:02 -0800

author: L.J. Shen
name: Alex �� Comets and Comments ��
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2019/09/06
date added: 2019/11/15
shelves: 2019-favorites, abuse, all-time-favorites, angst-with-a-capital-a, beautiful-doesnt-even-cut-it, better-late-than-never, childhood-lovers, bully, contemporary-romance, dirty-talk, double-pov, enemies-to-lovers, forbidden-fruit, guilty-pleasures, high-school-drama-rama, hype-is-real, its-getting-hot-in-here, made-me-laugh, new-adult, panty-dropper, romance, second-chances, sexual-tension, standalone, swallowed-it-whole, thin-line-between-love-and-hate, trigger-warning, what-the-actual-fuck, young-love
review:
“No offense, sir, but one of your daughters is entirely too young for me, and the other is entirely too Daria for me.��

Is this happening? Can it be? Did Alex just rate an L.J Shen book more than 3 stars? Did Alex just actually enjoy the everloving shit out of this problematic as fuck book? *Owen Wilson voice* WooOOWwW
_______________

Explain yourself, Alex

So in the past, Ms. Shen and I have not gelled well together. I find her books very heavily controversial and are often filled with many tropes and triggers that I just can't get past. Her male heroes are often assholes known for how awful they can treat their girls, but somehow it works for people. It never really did for me, until this pretty little storm made its way into my hands.

"He gave me the rarest thing in the world, and I gave him heartache."

Don't be mistaken, Pretty Reckless still has asshole leads, both of them (Daria and Penn) treat each other like shit for the most part of the book and the writing, although enjoyable still has plenty of triggers. Somehow, someway, I still really enjoyed this! I loved the banter between the group of friends and I flew through this very fast. I was so scared to pick it up but once I did, I was completely captivated. I love enemies-to-lovers but bully romances can be very hit or miss depending how the subject is treated, and in all honesty - I felt like Daria held up her own in this very well! Granted, it was because she too, was a bully but semantics, amiright??

“Mess with me, Followhill, and I will ruin you.��
“Not if I ruin you first.��

This was angsty and gritty all through and every chapter had me at the edge. The plot-twists weren't shockers but I really didn't mind because I fell in love with each broken character. The character development was so subtly and beautifully done, I didn't even know I was falling for them until I finished and realized that I had. L.J Shen took my breath away with this one, simply for the fact that she can write up the tragic tales of highschool seniors that hits all the feels. It was so very addicting... I haven't read the Sinners of Saint series so I don't know the backstory of the parents in the All Saints series, but this book really made me want to pick it up.

"You are the fucking equation, I want to yell in her face. The riddle and the answer and the numbers within it. You’re math. You make sense. “Don’t go,�� I croak. "

This book reminded me of the show, Euphoria. So if you're into that and want something in between waiting for Season Two, here's your little golden nugget! Another thing that I really want to draw attention to is the fact that this book is advertised as YA (Young Adult), when it is seriously not! It is definitely NA (New Adult) with all the steamy and graphic scenes you could expect in one. Which brings me to the fact that this is an absolute panty-dropper, folks. If it's not entertaining you, making your heart ache or asking you to pull your hair out - it's being the book equivalent of a sauna. If you haven't already read this (which is highly unlikely, I just live under my safe rock) and you're a fan of "hate to love you, love to hate you scenes," then you're going to devour this book. I know I certainly did.

"Because I want to kill Daria. Daria made everything fade into the background the first time I saw her, and while I was busy admiring, everything around us burned."

Trigger Warnings: fat-shaming, slut-shaming, violence, "cheating"

Mister Impossible (Dreamer Trilogy, #2)

Fri, 08 Nov 2019 06:39:35 -0800

author: Maggie Stiefvater
name: Alex �� Comets and Comments ��
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/11/08
shelves: to-read, most-anticipated, fantasy-me-up, fantastical-creatures, family-power
review:
chief called and said this was it:
gansey, blue and ronan visiting adam wearing "harvard mom" shirts.

Stiefvater... please

Where Things Come Back

Sun, 27 Oct 2019 09:03:10 -0700

author: John Corey Whaley
name: Alex �� Comets and Comments ��
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2011
rating: 4
read at: 2017/01/01
date added: 2019/10/27
shelves: young-adult, haunting, tears-are-everywhere, what-the-actual-fuck
review:
I have read this book three times, once in 2015. Then again in 2016. Then once more in 2017.

All three times this book has never failed to leave me breathless.

It still haunts me and every bone in my body.

The Dream Thieves (The Raven Cycle, #2)

Sun, 27 Oct 2019 09:01:57 -0700

author: Maggie Stiefvater
name: Alex �� Comets and Comments ��
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2013
rating: 4
read at: 2018/01/07
date added: 2019/10/27
shelves: beautiful-doesnt-even-cut-it, better-late-than-never, family-power, fantasy-me-up, lgbtq, my-heart-is-on-the-carpet, never-forget, young-adult, all-time-favorites
review:
“If you never saw the stars, candles were enough.��

(Fanart by )

I have been holding off this review for a while... (In all honesty, I'm already halfway through Blue Lily, Lily Blue and this series is kicking ass so far).

There comes occasions where though it's not a 5 star book...
When the rating doesn't really matter at the end, because whether you give this series one star or all the stars in the damn universe. It still is unforgettable.
______________

Simplicity

“Arbores loqui latine. The trees speak Latin.��

I think I've found the trend.
It's the whole aspect of getting together a group of misfits and seeing them do/go through such strange things, but living a mundane life.
I've seen myself fall in love with TV shows, movies and other series that follow the same pattern.
I can really only describe it as being bittersweet.

With such a dense plotline filled with so many story arcs and side character stories, we see this ragtag group intersect themselves into each other and start to stitch together themselves as people. It's that simplicity and effortlessness that really shines out for me.

There was a scene in the beginning with Gansey on the phone, and all you can develop from the background is that Ronan and Noah are messing around and being teenage boys. Till all of a sudden, you find out that Ronan pushed Noah off the window. It was a filler scene and it still is one of my favorites in the whole series so far.

Chocolate Ship Cookies

“It was a sort of ferocious, quiet beauty, the sort that wouldn't let you admire it. The sort of beauty that always hurt.��

Well damn.
I'm going to admit, The Raven Boys didn't open me to hardcore ships. I had inklings of where certain pairings were heading but if anything, I fell in love with the platonic friendships in the first book.
The Dream Thieves was a slap to the face.
Quite literally every pair in this book (even the ones that were unconventional) made my heart sing:

1) Adam and Ronan broke into my house one day and with ones thievery and the others magic. They have taken my heart.
2) I am getting huge Blue and Gansey vibes and I've been waiting a whole book for this. PULL THROUGH DREAM TEAM. (Yogurt is the mascot.)
3) I love Noah. He deserves the milkyway galaxy.
4) Maura and The Gray Man. *squiggly eyebrows*
5) A raven and his raven boy. A story about how a hard-ass stayed up all night nurturing an animal from his dreams, and secretly has a heart of gold.

(Fanart by )

Thoughts

“While I'm gone," Gansey said, pausing, "dream me the world. Something new for every night.��

(Note: For anyone who's watched Stranger Things, I see Gansey as a total Steve Harrington and the fact that he mothers and babysits the whole gang, but he needs them as much as they need him makes me grin like a psychopath)

So I have a lot of ideas and theories on where Ms. Stiefvater is planning on taking this story, some of them are realistic. Most of them are so absurd, you would look at me like I was batshit crazy (even more so than I usually am) if I post them here.

I also am an avid Tumblr user (especially when I search up art and book related stuffs), so going through some of the beautiful fanart really makes me want to consume this series for breakfast and just sit there looking at my self knowing that I have a problem, but being okay with it.

(Fanart by )

“I wish you could be kissed, Jane,' he said. 'Because I would beg just one off you. Under all this.' He flailed an arm toward the stars.��

Blue Lily, Lily Blue (The Raven Cycle, #3)

Sun, 27 Oct 2019 09:01:47 -0700

author: Maggie Stiefvater
name: Alex �� Comets and Comments ��
average rating: 4.26
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at: 2018/01/19
date added: 2019/10/27
shelves: beautiful-doesnt-even-cut-it, better-late-than-never, cute-and-cuddly, family-power, i-like-big-books-and-i-cannot-lie, lgbtq, mental-health, my-heart-is-on-the-carpet, never-forget, young-adult, young-love, all-time-favorites
review:
“Mornings like this one were made for memories.��

Isn't it the most obscure and abnormal concept that a book filled with random sequences of the alphabet put together to make some sense, can act as a catalyst to generate a chemistry lab full of emotions?
Essentially, you could have an infinite amount of books with the same character count as an airline flight safety manual, but those random string of words put together in just a handful of books can make you feel so intensely.

This is what The Raven Cycle does.
There should be a damn warning label on the cover that should inform your heart to proceed with caution.
_______________

Note: All rights belong to the different artists that have created the (fucking amazing) fanart attached to this review.
Another Note: This review is broken down with different aspects of tarot cards - linked to different aspects of the book.

The King

Kings are considered to be the most mature of the Court Cards. They have travelled through life successfully and are now at the pinnacle of experience and understanding. Thus, the Kings represent the fully developed personalities of each of the Suits.

Each and every character in this series, can have a way to cut your most vital organs up and still make you beg them to stick around because that's just how addictive they are. I'm talking even the villains, the supposed to be villains, the princesses (Ronan.. don't even try and fight me on this), the knights, the supernatural, the heroes, the kings...

You're going to read this and finish it and then envy anyone else that has the ability to experience these wondrous personalities for the first time again.

“Let’s leave her,�� Ronan said. Gansey replied, “If we abandoned people in caves because they were crazy, you’d still be back in Cabeswater.��

The Mirror

The High Priestess symbolizes intuition, psychic energy, the dream world, the unconscious, feelings, instincts and emotions. She senses what is going on below the surface. She is a receptive mirror.

I think what I loved was the fact that everything was practically a freakshow. I love that we were constantly surrounded by surreal aspects and dream things. It took away from reality but let us stay in a real world at the same time. So cheers, Stiefvater. You got me all kinds of fucked up.
300 Fox Way and it's residents will forever be a love of mine, and although the plot of the story (personally) is very character driven - we get so many 'paranormal' facets that makes the whole story fly off the pages.

"Why does terror grow so much better away from the sun"

The Magician

The first trump or Major Arcana card in most traditional Tarot decks. ... In divination it is considered by some to succeed The Fool card. He is the middle ground.

Although there were definitely some problems I came across (hence not enabling the five star rating) It was very easily covered up with the humor and banter in between the chaos of everything that was going on. We got the boys being boys, we saw how each of the gang is slowly growing up and on, we get to witness them falling in love etc. etc.

I loved the chemistry we got with Adam and Ronan in this edition, not to mention Blue and Gansey have been a ship from day one - so the progress with them makes my heart happy.

Ronan will always be my problematic fave.
Adam my chaotic neutral.
Gansey, my mother of four.
Blue - a hardass, badass, smartass cupcake.
And Noah... Noah can't be described because I love him so much.

“We are going so slow," Noah said, craning his neck to observe the inevitable queue behind them. "I think I just saw a tricycle pass us.��

“I think it's crazy how you're in love with all those raven boys.��

I would also like to conclude by advising to always eat your greens. Do Jesse Dittley proud.

Nimona

Fri, 25 Oct 2019 18:23:48 -0700

author: N.D. Stevenson
name: Alex �� Comets and Comments ��
average rating: 4.36
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/10/25
shelves: to-read
review:

Dreams of 18 (Heartstone, #2)

Mon, 21 Oct 2019 22:00:03 -0700

author: Saffron A. Kent
name: Alex �� Comets and Comments ��
average rating: 3.84
book published: 2019
rating: 2
read at: 2019/10/07
date added: 2019/10/21
shelves: alex-rants-shelf, alex-rolled-her-eyes-way-too-often, angst-with-a-capital-a, arc, better-late-than-never, contemporary-romance, dirty-talk, don-t-think-with-your-dick, forbidden-fruit, insta-love-bug, not-memorable, pop-that-cherry, romance, second-chances, sexual-tension, standalone, taboo, unlikeable-characters, unpopular-opinion, age-gap
review:
“You know what happens when a thirty-four-year-old man watches a sixteen-year-old girl?��
“But I’m not�� I’m not sixteen anymore.��

*sigh* I guess I needed time to absorb this story as well as the level of disappointment I felt while reading DO18. This story had so much potential and I honestly could not have been more excited. Saffron Kent has written one of my all time favourite romances, Medicine Man and I always do a little dance whenever she comes out with new material. This one fell very short for me.

_______________

Hit or Miss
Right so, I guess I can say with some certainty that Kent's books and I have a love-hate relationship. I guess my main issue with DO18 is the fact that I had so much hope for it! This author can do a lot of things with smut and often her books will call for the holiest holy water, but I was so stuck on the issues within this book that I couldn't even enjoy that.

Everything felt way too rushed and underdeveloped. I started feeling this from the second chapter. The writing was watered down and the random bursts of purple prose would give me a sense of whiplash. It was like someone randomly yelled at the author to be "more deep" in the middle of random scenes. There's something to be said though, about the tension that this book derives because I definitely wanted to keep reading, even though I wasn't necessarily adoring what I was reading. (Does that even make sense, Alex?) I only wish that there was something more unique to this book, rather than just "this happened, then that happened, then we lived happily ever after." I wanted to be more invested with the story itself and the characters.

"You can eat me up all you want. You can eat me up a hundred different ways. I’m gonna like your teeth and your tongue and I’m gonna fall in love with the sting of it all. You’re my Strawberry Man. At least, that’s what I call you in my head.��

The Romance
Age-gap romances can really go one of two ways. I actually think Kent handled this aspect pretty well. I had more issues with the amount of cringey one-liners and cliche "he's just such a man" statements that I got bored. Which is the crux of my rating, there was nothing of substance that I held onto. I wasn't drawn to Violet or Mr. Edwards, so I wasn't really invested in their romance. The first part of the story definitely captivated me more than the second half, if only for the reason that there was something between Violet and Graham that left me wanting more. This seemed to lose itself as the story progressed.

DO18 is also packed full of angst, which is not always a bad thing. Although, I feel like it was mostly "telling" me about how it's angsty, instead of making me feel the angst. This seemed to regress during the latter part of the book. Soon, I just felt like I was in a very mundane story that wanted to be taboo, instead of yknow actually being taboo.

I also seriously struggled with the way Violet's mental health was approached. I wanted her to push through the spiralling thoughts and stand her ground for some things but the story was bordering "magic dick syndrome," and it made me feel very uncomfortable. There were also some scenes that just did not sit right at all. Specifically, there was a scene in the start of the book where Graham asks (a drunk) Violet quite explicitly to step away from his personal space, but she refuses and go aheads and kisses him instead. I kept thinking, if the situation was reversed and a lady was asking a man to move away from her... it would be absolutely disgusting so why shouldn't this be seen as the same?

“Mr. Edwards?�� “Step. The fuck. Away.�� There’s a warning in his tone. An urgency, even. Or maybe it’s me. I’m the one filled with all the urgency that this is my only chance. The only chance to know how it feels. I keep watching his mouth. “It’s my birthday.�� “Go. Home.��

Overall, I feel like this story had so much potential and having loved Kent's novel's in the past... I was just very severely disappointed. I"m not losing hope because I know I trust Saffron's writing style and plot devices, this one just didn't hit a lot of the marks.

Wayward Son (Simon Snow, #2)

Mon, 21 Oct 2019 05:42:27 -0700

author: Rainbow Rowell
name: Alex �� Comets and Comments ��
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2019
rating: 3
read at: 2019/10/13
date added: 2019/10/21
shelves: upcoming, m-m, young-adult, beautiful-doesnt-even-cut-it, enemies-to-lovers, double-pov, family-power, fantastical-creatures, fantasy-me-up, it-hurts, jealousy, made-me-laugh, magic, most-anticipated, second-chances, thin-line-between-love-and-hate, unpopular-opinion
review:
“Can I?�� he asks.
Can you what, Simon? Kiss me? Kill me? Break my heart?��

So I'm not entirely sure why I am disappointed, but I am...
I'm also not necessarily upset with how this book played out...

But all regards aside, if Tyrannus Basilton Grimm-Pitch does not write his boyfriend a list of reasons why he both loves and hates him for their wedding day, I'm going to safely assume we all died in 2012 and this is a simulation.
_______________

Idiots to Still Idiots to Lovers

I'm almost certain I actually kinda "enjoyed" this. I did. This is very different to Carry On. Which I would like to primarily say isn't the main reason I'm giving it 3 stars because I think the book deserved to have a new and slightly dire atmosphere. Rainbow was giving us "the story after the story," and that usually isn't light.

Wayward Son hurt me, it physically ached my heart to turn the pages. I felt like I was chasing something during the entire book but as soon as I finished, I didn't reach what I was chasing for. I wasn't left with the hope that I felt when I reached the last page of Carry On. All my gay heart really wanted was a little biscuit of LGBT+ boldness and courage but it fell flat.

That being said, Rainbow Rowell knows how to write, boys and girls. I don't think I have ever felt the crushing feeling of mundanity written so perfectly. That's what hurts the most about this book, the entire thing focuses on what it's like to be human. It was tragic to say the least.

“I’d give him all that I am.
I’d give him all that I was.
I’d open up a vein.��

Baz and Simon hold such a unique place in my heart and seeing them understand what it means to love in this book was almost too precious. It felt intimate and it stung like a mf at the best of times. Yet, everything felt too rushed. I wanted so much more from their personal monologues and character development. The personalities of each character in this book was something entirely too different from Carry On. There was no transition or movement into the people we meet in Wayward Son and often, many plot arcs hit like whiplash. I struggled trying to understand Baz through this entire book because I felt like we were handed a completley different version of him.

My main theory on why I'm so disappointed with Wayward Son was because this has been one of my biggest anticipated reads of the year. For those who know how long I've been waiting for a Simon and Baz sequel, I can honestly say... too fucking long. I expected the biggest bang, but this hit too close to "second-book syndrome" and the plot felt like it was filling in for something rather than being a story in itself. It almost felt rushed but slow at the same time. Some events seemed to have no significance but were drawn out and the important scenes that I would have loved to keep reading about lasted a couple of pages. There were so many scenes that were glossed over and I didn't know if it was intentional or somehow, we were supposed to just forget those scenes happened?!

I love road-trip plots, so when I found out that Wayward Son was going to be the gang's trip to America, I probably got way too excited. So I guess, the moral of all this is; don't let Alex get too excited about a book.

“I’d tie our hearts together, chamber by chamber.��

Another thing I realized was I was very dissatisfied with the ending. It felt like no knots were untied and the book ended very abruptedly. There was little to no resolution, no communication and no overpowering feeling that made me want to turn back to page 1 and experience the story all over again. It almost felt like a novella that an author would gift their readers for signing up to their monthly newsletter. That being said, am I going to read the third book? HELL YES.

Wayward Son wasn't a win for me, but it wasn't a loss either. I have so much hope for my two soft bois that I would read 10 books on them if Rainbow so blessed us. Even though there were a lot of conflicts I had with this, there were moments that redeemed the story for me. Quite unsurprisingly, those moments occurred when I felt like learning more about our characters rather than drifting away from them. I'm not giving up yet, nor do I plan to anytime soon.

Pumpkinheads

Sun, 13 Oct 2019 21:37:15 -0700

author: Rainbow Rowell
name: Alex �� Comets and Comments ��
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2019
rating: 3
read at: 2019/10/05
date added: 2019/10/13
shelves: adventure, beautiful-doesnt-even-cut-it, contemporary-romance, cute-and-cuddly, friends-to-lovers, graphic-novel, lgbtq, little-or-no-review, romance, romantic-comedy, short-reads, standalone, swallowed-it-whole, young-adult
review:

Oedipus Rex (The Theban Plays, #1)

Sun, 13 Oct 2019 21:29:01 -0700

author: Sophocles
name: Alex �� Comets and Comments ��
average rating: 3.73
book published: -429
rating: 3
read at: 2019/10/02
date added: 2019/10/13
shelves: alex-goes-through-the-classics, forbidden-fruit, guilty-pleasures, little-or-no-review, never-forget, short-reads, swallowed-it-whole, what-the-actual-fuck
review:
this fucked me right up.

The Odyssey

Sun, 13 Oct 2019 21:26:53 -0700

author: Homer
name: Alex �� Comets and Comments ��
average rating: 3.79
book published: -700
rating: 2
read at: 2019/09/17
date added: 2019/10/13
shelves: alex-goes-through-the-classics, adventure, alex-rolled-her-eyes-way-too-often, better-late-than-never, fiction, high-fantasy, little-or-no-review
review:

The Selfish Gene

Sun, 13 Oct 2019 21:26:21 -0700

author: Richard Dawkins
name: Alex �� Comets and Comments ��
average rating: 4.15
book published: 1976
rating: 3
read at: 2019/09/22
date added: 2019/10/13
shelves: non-fiction, little-or-no-review, alex-goes-through-the-classics
review:

Well Met (Well Met, #1)

Sun, 13 Oct 2019 21:20:33 -0700

author: Jen DeLuca
name: Alex �� Comets and Comments ��
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at: 2019/08/27
date added: 2019/10/13
shelves: arc, alex-rolled-her-eyes-way-too-often, better-late-than-never, contemporary-romance, cute-and-cuddly, enemies-to-lovers, insta-love-bug, little-or-no-review, not-memorable, recommended-to-me, romance, romantic-comedy, standalone
review:
~this one was not for me~

I felt like it was very one-dimensional and often lacked enough depth for me to want to keep reading. I wanted so much more... hmmm *sighhh*

The Body Painter (Master of Trickery Duet, #1)

Tue, 27 Aug 2019 05:09:18 -0700

author: Pepper Winters
name: Alex �� Comets and Comments ��
average rating: 3.71
book published: 2019
rating: 1
read at: 2019/08/22
date added: 2019/08/27
shelves: contemporary-romance, erotica, its-getting-hot-in-here, romance, standalone, new-adult, arc, abuse, alex-rants-shelf, alex-rolled-her-eyes-way-too-often, angst-with-a-capital-a, better-late-than-never, cliffhanger-syndrome, darker-than-my-soul, don-t-think-with-your-dick, friends-to-lovers, never-again, no-in-every-language-in-the-cosmos, romantic-thriller, second-chances, thin-line-between-love-and-hate, the-one-that-got-away, unlikeable-characters, unpopular-opinion, what-the-actual-fuck, young-love
review:
"If I was brutally honest with myself, I was mostly in love with her and I’d never even said hello."

I had to read this book sectionally. Only because I promised myself I would not DNF it, nor would I make my final judgement until and unless I've read that last page. I knew I had to leave my review for a handful of days after release day, because for all intents and purposes - Pepper Winters deserves any and all success with her releases, and I wanted to give myself time to try and understand this book. Unfortunately, the case seems to be that whilst I will continue to support and read Pepper's future material, this book will never be for me.

_______________

The line between Romance and Romanticization

Firstly, this is a note that there will be spoilers sprinkled across this review, so read with your own caution.

No matter how much I love a good 'dark' romance, I will always differentiate between romanticization and romance itself. The romanticization of a toxic relationship can be very detrimental to those reading, especially in this genre - where I know that there are young readers. No matter how many trigger warnings you forewarn a reader with, (which there weren't any, but that's an entirely different bone to pick) there will always be some form of absorption when you read new information.

I have read a lot of romance that does tackle dark themes as well as abusive relationships in the "correct" manner. Wherein, both parties realize that it is a abusive relationship and either get help or walk away. That being said, we all love our happily ever afters and our romances to be coated in all sorts of sugar, I know I do. Yet, sometimes we also love reading about stories with a sense of realism, with problems that people face in real life. These are the stories that are the most dangerous when done "wrong." When a little girl or boy, becoming a young adult perceives the behaviors in the book to be true and justified. This was my constant fear with The Body Painter.

I have mentioned in the past that I have been in very toxic relationships but in this instance, for the life of me, and I didn't know why - I kept thinking to myself, "What if I had a daughter in Olin's position?" or "What if I had a son in Gil's position?"

This book made me uncomfortable, and not in the way that gripped me. I did not like a single damn character. The relationship between Olin and Gil was toxic to its core. I spent most of my time fearing for Olin because I felt Gil would snap at her at any moment. I understand that kindness is a virtue, and at first I thought Olin was being both strong and brave. As the story went on however, I felt like grabbing Olin and getting the fuck away from Gil together. There was so much foreshadowing of physical abuse and dialogue that made me want me to throw my damn kindle.

Let me walk you through some examples;

1) Let's start by the dialogue and the way Gil and Olin spoke to each other. I almost feel like I was able to stomach the constant back and forth between the two MC's because I thought somewhere down the line, Olin would stand up for herself. I knew that the end of the book would try and "justify" his cruelty towards her, but there should be no justification for treating and talking to a girl like she's an object. None.

▶︎“I’m going to fuck you and then you’re walking out that door and never coming back.�� The lace of alcohol in his tone didn’t slur but added a cruelty that only sent more fire into my already bleeding need."
▶︎“I promised myself I’d be as cruel as necessary to keep you away. That I’d hurt you all over again if that’s what it took. But...I’m too fucking weak. You’re perfect. You’ve always been perfect.��

2) These are threats, that on the surface level - manipulate you into thinking that Gil is about to hurt her. Even if he means a third party will hurt her, these are all manipulations of violence and promises of abuse.

▶︎Gil:“I’m better off alone, believe me.��
Olin: “You need medical attention.��
Gil: “So will you if you don’t leave.��
▶︎“His eyes flashed with history. Of the time he’d physically hurt me. Of the time his words had the power to stop my heart.��

3)The constant danger of physical abuse and fear that Gil is going to be "pushed too far," is the terror that drives Olin to be cautious. Yet, she keeps coming back. There is nothing called being "pushed too far" that equates to physical violence. This is not a justification, nor should it be to anyone reading.

▶︎"But what if he doesn’t ask me to leave next time? What if he threw me out physically? What if he hurt me like he had when I’d pushed him too far at school?"
▶︎“For fuck’s sake, Olin.�� His eyes flashed, reminding me all over again of the nastiness he was capable of. “I told you to go! Don’t make me hurt you.��

4) The repetition bothered me too much. He would treat her like shit, she would go away only to come back the next day. Rinse and repeat. This isn't romance at all, this is something you see on a psychologists pamphlet that lets you know you're not in a working relationship. Gil would say such awful things and Olin would justify it herself.

▶︎"He’d bit me, licked me, devoured me, and ordered me to never go back. But he’s hurting..."
▶︎“I didn’t want you then, and I don’t want you now. You’re embarrassing yourself, Olin. Chasing after a man who has no intention of ever being with you again.��

5) Olin started pissing me off and soon as she inherently became a carpet. Gil would be an ass to her and she would be bothered that they didn't get to keep kissing or fucking. Then I felt a mixture of confusion and irritation because she genuinely wanted Gil to reach his breaking point in the most poisonous way. The main heroine wondering if she was safe or not with her supposed love interest is not something I really look for in a romance...

▶︎"“I think there is a connection.�� I looked up briefly, studying how close I was to pushing him over the edge.
Push harder.
Earn answers.
Be prepared to run if he snaps."
▶︎“Yes, I’m very lucky Gilbert was there. I’m safe with him.��
Are you?
Are you truly?��
▶︎"I’d lied for him. I’d drained myself of everything at his request.

6) Eventually, there was two scenes that completely threw me over. The first one entailed Gil mocking Olin's sanity because she was concerned about the bruises and cuts he sported. The second was an incident where Olin "slipped," and then Gil went on to ask her to lie to the police without giving her any fucking reason other than to trust him, right after he hurt her.

▶︎“Why? Did you not see his injuries?�� The bruise on his jaw. The cut on his lip. Gil stiffened as if I’d given away all his secrets. Shoving hands into his hoodie pocket, he stormed toward a trestle table chock-full of glass jars containing brushes and rags. “She’s seeing things. I actually fear for her mental stability. Get rid of her, will you, Miller?��

▶︎“Wh-what happened?�� I licked my lips, wincing as another throb of pain found me.
He jerked as if I’d slapped him. “You slipped.��
...
“I slipped? How?�� I didn’t slip. I was slammed into the door.
...
“Wait...�� I swallowed hard. “You did this to me?�� I ripped my hand away. “You knocked me out?��
He hunched, his green eyes flashing. “I didn’t mean to. I only meant to unbalance you. I just wanted your phone. But...I pushed too hard. You tripped and fell against the door.��
...
“So, you thought it would be better to maim me?��
“I deserve everything you have to say to me.�� His hands curled into fists. “But...first, I need you to do something for me.��

7) Lastly, through all of this, Gil finds it in himself to blame Olin for it all.

▶︎“What do you want from me, Olin?�� His sigh was endlessly heavy. “You push me until I snap. You taunt me until I retaliate. You’re not supposed to be in my life, yet you barged in anyway.�� His eyes flashed. “This is your fault. You made it all so fucking complicated.��
“You’re blaming me for all of this?��
He nodded, moving forward and stopping in front of my chair-shield. “All of it.��

The Finale

In the end, I guessed the twist and I also ended up feeling very repulsed in general by this story. I felt like if the main concern was [spoilers removed]. Pepper Winters has written some of my favorites in the past and to say I was looking forward to this for a year is the truth. I fell in love with the synopsis the first time I read it and the teasers after that only added to my love.

It is with such a heavy heart that I write this review, and during writing this review, I thought I read a different book to everyone else. Toxicity is not romance, it should not be marketed as such. I don't think I have the energy to read the second book, regardless if it clears things up, simply because this book took such a massive emotional chunk out of me. The storyline felt lost to me because Gil and Olin kept going back and forth with the "stay away from me," "no wait, I need you" plot. I tried folks, I really did.

----Prior Reading----
The Body Painter �� Most Anticipated
Expected publication: Summer 2018

Beautiful Artwork by . His work gives me goosebumps and completely gets me excited for The Body Painter.

The First Girl Child (The Chronicles of Saylok, #1)

Fri, 16 Aug 2019 11:02:59 -0700

author: Amy Harmon
name: Alex �� Comets and Comments ��
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2019/08/13
date added: 2019/08/16
shelves: arc, 2019-favorites, adventure, beautiful-doesnt-even-cut-it, family-power, fantastical-creatures, fantasy-me-up, feminist, fiction, friends-to-lovers, high-fantasy, hype-is-real, i-like-big-books-and-i-cannot-lie, it-hurts, magic, netgalley, prose-before-hoes, religion-or-faith, standalone, trigger-warning, young-adult
review:
"In the beginning, they’d rejoiced. Sons were always preferable. Sons were the lifeblood. The protectors. The warriors. The farmers. How foolish they’d all been."

I don't really have to proper words to describe just how well-crafted and ingenious The First Girl Child was. So, this review is going to be a shell of what it potentially could be, simply because Amy Harmon completely stole my words away and I'm jealous of those that may experience this for the first time.

_______________

The World
The First Girl Child takes place in a land called Saylok, named after the son of Odin. Odin created an island for Saylok as he loved both nature and wanted to hide away from the ideals of men. However, Loki, being the God of Mischief, set out to see Saylok suffer and afflicted all six of Saylok's sons that were born in the six different villages. Each son soon began to take the form of different animals, Adyar the eagle, Berne the bear, Ebba the boar, Dolphys the wolf, Joran the horse, and Leok the lion. In result, Saylok formed a temple in the midst of these six villages in order to appoint keepers to protect the lands, runes and his children. We know from Norse mythology that Odin did not have any such son named Saylok, but Harmon's imagination and vivid descriptions of the world and the history makes it almost seem too real.

Our story takes place many generations after the birth of Saylok's land, and now our chieftains of each village only resemble their animal ancestries. We begin by following a keeper named Dagmar and his safe-keeping of his deceased sister's son. I went into this story not knowing much except the blurb and although it pulled me in, I really cannot begin to explain how much more this novel holds. It follows the journey of many people; some bad, some worse but most who are bold. Yes, this has tinges of romance but the key focus lies on the story of different people in search of themselves.

“You make me want to be seen,�� she said, and his gaze shot to hers, searing, searching. “I have always seen you, Ghost.��

The Story
In all honesty, The First Girl Child is a clever commentary on the misogynistic injustices of a social society whilst also being a kick-ass fantasy novel with both adventure and intrigue. The undertones of feminism laced within the world-building was something that I've never seen before in such a traditional take on fantasy. We weren't left with lots of info-dumps or a prolonged introduction of the characters, only a longing that never really stopped until the last page. This novel read more like a magical tale or legend, parred with Harmon's lush visuals and captivating writing.

This story gets slow at times, which is the only reason I couldn't give it five stars. It spans more than twenty years, so don't expect a fast-paced novel. Yet, it made the gripping parts even more thrilling. The "magic" or rune system in this book is the best kind of slow burn because you understand its symbolism and meaning more towards the end. Even if the story stalls at times, don't give up. The First Girl Child can break your heart only to patch it up again in the best way and I highly recommend picking it up!

“Life is not kind to women,�� Ghost sighed. “My sister said the same thing. But life is not especially kind to men either. Life is suffering, and we all suffer.��
“Mayhaps God did not love your sister as much as his other children?�� Ghost heard her bitterness and met his gaze with defiance. “Or mayhaps he loved her more and could not be without her.��

The relationships between Alba and Bayr + Ghost and Dagmar + Bayr and Dagmar and even Ivo + The Chieftains were so brilliantly layered that I could separate the characteristics of each one and none of them would be the same. The clear distinctions between themes of love, redemption, sacrifice, power and grief were brutally co-dependent but each relationship had its own uniqueness. Least to say, I think everyone should pick this book up, for more reasons than one.

“We are abused. We are used. We are bartered and abandoned. But rarely are we loved. So be it. From this day forward, there will be no daughters in Saylok for any of you to love.��

Trigger warnings for self harm (a part of the rune system), abuse, heavy misogyny.

The quotes in this review are taken from an ARC and are subject to change preceding final publication.

The Last Post

Tue, 13 Aug 2019 14:08:11 -0700

author: Renee Carlino
name: Alex �� Comets and Comments ��
average rating: 3.36
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at: 2019/07/20
date added: 2019/08/13
shelves: arc, alex-rolled-her-eyes-way-too-often, contemporary-romance, dnf, insta-love-bug, little-or-no-review, new-adult, no-in-every-language-in-the-cosmos, not-memorable, romance, standalone, unlikeable-characters, unpopular-opinion, what-the-actual-fuck
review:
~dnf @35%~

This was my first Renee Carlino book and whilst I will try reading another one of her novels in the future, this one just was NOT for me. I felt the characters to be very unrealistic and two-dimensional, it was something I just couldn't get past. The style of writing was also something that didn't bode well with me, I found it to be very narrative (instead of descriptive) and it tended to lack emotion. The romance was cringey, at best and lacked a lot of substance that I kept looking for. I was really excited for this one and unfortunately, it just didn't hit the mark.

The First Girl Child (The Chronicles of Saylok #1)

Tue, 13 Aug 2019 05:33:24 -0700

author: Amy Harmon
name: Alex �� Comets and Comments ��
average rating: 4.39
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/08/13
shelves: to-read
review:

Mooncakes

Mon, 05 Aug 2019 06:55:11 -0700

author: Suzanne Walker
name: Alex �� Comets and Comments ��
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2019
rating: 3
read at: 2019/08/02
date added: 2019/08/05
shelves: non-binary-rep, cute-and-cuddly, family-power, fantastical-creatures, friends-to-lovers, graphic-novel, lgbtq, magic, netgalley, romance, short-reads, standalone, swallowed-it-whole, young-adult
review:
"...but this feels right, doesn't it?"

This was such a soft and lovely story filled with so many magical moments. From it's amazing cast of characters to its storyline that had me hooked from the start. Mooncakes was a joy to behold and the romance between Tam and Nova gave me all the feels. Tam is a non-binary werewolf and Nova is a chinese-american queer witch that lives with her two (kickass) grandmothers. I enjoyed the art style and the narrative kept me turning the pages. This was such a cute read that I flew through but I really wish that we got more substance on the magic system and the backgrounds of each character that led them to their arcs. Nevertheless, highly recommend to anyone looking for something to swoon over!

_______________

The Right Swipe (Modern Love, #1)

Mon, 05 Aug 2019 06:55:03 -0700

author: Alisha Rai
name: Alex �� Comets and Comments ��
average rating: 3.62
book published: 2019
rating: 2
read at: 2019/08/01
date added: 2019/08/05
shelves: arc, feminist, alex-rolled-her-eyes-way-too-often, contemporary-romance, enemies-to-lovers, new-adult, not-memorable, recommended-to-me, romance, romantic-comedy, second-chances, standalone, story-with-sports, thin-line-between-love-and-hate, trigger-warning, unlikeable-characters
review:
“Rhiannon Hunter worshipped at the altar of no man.��

The Right Swipe was my first time reading Alisha Rai; filled with promising tones of empowerment and feminism, it held so much potential. Unfortunately, this one was not for me and while I loved discovering more about online dating and the power that female emancipation can show through text; I failed to enjoy it for what it was primarily advertised as -romance.

_______________

Our Characters
I will always credit an author for creating a unit comprising of diverse and unique characters. This book focused on people of color as well as different sexualities and ethnicities. However, my first problem arose when I couldn't relate to our main character, Rhiannon Hunter.

“This has to do with success.�� If that success was also about revenge, well. Rhiannon couldn’t help that. “I’ll talk to Samson. Listen to him, talk to him, get my closure.�� Rhiannon shrugged. “And then, I’ll ask him for a favor.�� When he was feeling bad.

Firstly, do not get me wrong. I, like many others that read contemporary romance, absolutely loathe a main character (especially a female) that is a human rendition of a welcome mat. I love my gals powerful and confident! Yet, I found Rhiannon to be at the extreme side of this and her hard-headed and callous attitude towards quite a lot of things to be off-putting. I was hoping we would see her character traits develop through the novel, but she remained intensely indignant and cold throughout. Additionally, her character arc leaves so much room for the audience to want to understand more of why she is so hard, but I felt like everything could have just been more. On the other hand, I also found the love interest - Samson - to be bland and underwhelming for the most part. Their story (although slightly cliche) had such a great premise, and I enjoyed seeing the plot unfold (rather than being told what was happening).

During my initial read of this book, I was really excited and I enjoyed meeting all our characters and understanding their backstory. During this time, I thought things would pick up and the chemistry between Samson and Rhi would spark. Sadly, I didn't experience the usual flutters and satisfaction that I adore when reading an exhilarating romance novel. Yet, I still think many people will (and have) come to love this book simply for its different approach to romance. I also think many people will (and have) think this is a kickass book all in all. Still, I remain true to my "it's not you, it's me" mindset.

Our Plot
I actually reached out to the author to understand a quote in this book that I was unsure of and her reply lead me to a bunch of articles on feminist theory that had me digging deeper. It started becoming apparent that I was more interested in that then the story between Samson and Rhi. In truth, there were just too many things that I didn't connect with in this book.

Even though this wasn't right for me, I can say that I could definitely feel the passion Alisha Rai has on certain topics and it showcases with a high degree of sophistication. I only wish I related to the characters or the storyline more.

The true intent and message of this book warrants five stars in itself but I was told I would be getting a swoon-worthy romantic comedy and while TRW is not without merit, I felt like it was lacking quite a bit in that department. It has a plot filled with relevant topics that debate the misogynistic and unequal demographics of the tertiary workforce as well as women empowering other women that isn't often found in contemporary romance. For that, it's a triumph.

The quotes in this review are taken from an ARC and are subject to change preceding final publication.

Loveless

Thu, 01 Aug 2019 14:48:36 -0700

author: Alice Oseman
name: Alex �� Comets and Comments ��
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/08/01
shelves: to-read
review:

Feast of Sparks (Thornchapel, #2)

Thu, 01 Aug 2019 13:18:29 -0700

author: Sierra Simone
name: Alex �� Comets and Comments ��
average rating: 3.77
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2019/07/25
date added: 2019/08/01
shelves: most-anticipated, upcoming, erotica, arc, angst-with-a-capital-a, beautiful-doesnt-even-cut-it, cliffhanger-syndrome, dirty-talk, enemies-to-lovers, double-pov, forbidden-fruit, guilty-pleasures, its-getting-hot-in-here, m-m, mmf, money-money-money, panty-dropper, pop-that-cherry, prose-before-hoes, religion-or-faith, romance, second-chances, sexual-tension, swallowed-it-whole, thin-line-between-love-and-hate
review:
“If I could rearrange the world for you, I would,�� he says. “I’d rearrange everything.��

Stepping into Thornchapel is like being blindfolded on a rollercoaster. You never know when your inching up and nearing the edge... and then all of a sudden your stomach drops, your heart is light and you're descending at rapid speed. Then, everything seems fine but you really have no idea what else is in store for you.

_______________

Feast of Sparks
It's hard not to call this series captivating... Akin to its predecessor, FOS completely consumes you from start to finish. It is erotica with grit and edge. A storyline that slowly hypnotizes you and characters that will make your heart swoon. When I started reading the first couple of chapters, I had to physically break myself away from the text and slow down just so I could draw out every page. The sensuality and carnality of the plot is something so unique to this series and I stand by my statement that the storyline is just as worthwhile as the erotica.

FOS begins almost exactly where ALIT ended but now we also get to see the history behind Auden and St. Sebastian's conflict. The change in POV was refreshing and Saint now owns a large section of my heart. Sierra Simone definitely does not disappoint with her kinky, depraved and wickedly delicious scenes between Saint, Auden and Poe but I do have to say the monologue and character development I got to experience with Saint's storyline was breathtaking. In short; the longing in this book will drive you insane.

"We are born to burn.��

The Ensemble
I have been chomping at the bit waiting for this release ever since I finished A Lesson in Thorns and while I can happily say that Sierra Simone delivered, there were quite a few problems I faced during the latter end of the novel. BUT before all of that, let me try and sell you on this series.

Firstly, it's not for everyone. In fact, I'd say it's for a very select few that probably enjoy getting absolutely obliterated by a story about a group of six champagne-drinking, ritual-fucking, angst-driven, orgytastic adults. Whilst ALIT followed the groups initial curiosity towards their parents tragic backstories and all the magical / erotic behaviorisms of Thornchapel... FOS shows a significant level of maturity. It was like drinking a much finer wine. We see a distinct change in group dynamic and the characters have now begun to know exactly what they want.

"This is just a bonfire we spent too long making, and this is just a circle of old lanterns that we found in Thornchapel’s attic. These are just my friends—my fussy, hilarious, prickly, pretty friends—and I’m just me. I’m not a bride, I’m not a May Queen. I’m just a librarian who likes to be spanked."

Secondly, this book ends in a cliffhanger (I can't make my mind up on what I think about the cliffhanger in this one). The next book is expected to be published in early 2020. However, the plot is such that it follows a continuous timeline and I don't expect the third book will have any time jumps - it will most likely be like this one and start where the previous book left off. It's definitely a commitment but it's one that I have no regrets in following through on.

Sierra Simone (as always) has the musings of a kinky philosopher and it works beautifully with the atmosphere and setting of Thornchapel. The wonderful descriptions and monologues were just as engrossing as the first novel. The tinge of magic in the air and the slight feeling that something paranormal is encircling the events that unfold during the book is still wonderfully written.

"Maybe Thornchapel is a magic place, but it isn’t a safe place."

The Story
The start of this book was a solid 5 stars but towards the last quarter it fell to about 3-3.5 stars. This was solely due to the fact that a handful of things were starting to become more apparent to me during the time I was near the end. For the most part, I struggled to ration with Poe's desperation in this book. Understandably, something massive happens in her storyline that affects her throughout FOS, yet I wish we got more of her thoughts and identity like we did the first book.

"I am the girl who kneels at night. I am the bride by thorns."

It was hard not to compare FOS to ALIT, but I feel like a lot of what was happening began to be repetitive. The inner conflict with some of the characters felt a bit drawn out and unrealistic at times with all the grand gestures and statements. Which brings me to the random info-dumps at concentrated parts of the book. I wish the information we got on the rituals and the history of Thornchapel unfurled throughout the book rather than in selectively condensed chapters.

Leaving behind all those little things, I really did enjoy this sequel to a series that I think I will always love. I look forward to the third book and seeing the mysteries of Thornchapel unravel :)

"Keep me any way you want, I want to tell him. Just so long as you keep me close."

1. A Lesson In Thorns: ★★★★��
2. Feast of Sparks: ★★★★

Kissing Galileo (Dear Professor, #2)

Wed, 31 Jul 2019 11:47:12 -0700

author: Penny Reid
name: Alex �� Comets and Comments ��
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2018
rating: 3
read at: 2019/06/22
date added: 2019/07/31
shelves: trigger-warning, angst-with-a-capital-a, college, contemporary-romance, cute-and-cuddly, forbidden-fruit, friends-to-lovers, student-teacher, jealousy, little-or-no-review, mental-health, new-adult, pop-that-cherry, prose-before-hoes, romance, romantic-comedy, sexual-tension, standalone, try-again-later, unpopular-opinion
review:
This was really cute and had great writing but unfortunately fell flat towards the end for me...I really enjoyed the plot and the cutesy relationship between the two main characters but I just wished for more the entire time!

Top Secret

Wed, 31 Jul 2019 11:40:43 -0700

author: Sarina Bowen
name: Alex �� Comets and Comments ��
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2019
rating: 2
read at: 2019/06/23
date added: 2019/07/31
shelves: better-late-than-never, angst-with-a-capital-a, college, contemporary-romance, cute-and-cuddly, dirty-talk, double-pov, don-t-think-with-your-dick, enemies-to-lovers, forbidden-fruit, friends-with-benefits, guilty-pleasures, lgbtq, m-m, little-or-no-review, not-memorable, sexual-tension, standalone, thin-line-between-love-and-hate
review:

Black (Kitty Play Romance)

Wed, 31 Jul 2019 11:35:58 -0700

author: Quin
name: Alex �� Comets and Comments ��
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at: 2019/06/27
date added: 2019/07/31
shelves: m-m, angst-with-a-capital-a, contemporary-romance, cute-and-cuddly, dirty-talk, friends-to-lovers, insta-love-bug, little-or-no-review, romance, standalone, erotica, lgbtq, kinks-galore
review:

Voyeur (Voyeur, #1)

Wed, 31 Jul 2019 11:31:19 -0700

author: Fiona Cole
name: Alex �� Comets and Comments ��
average rating: 3.53
book published: 2018
rating: 2
read at: 2019/06/23
date added: 2019/07/31
shelves: alex-rolled-her-eyes-way-too-often, angst-with-a-capital-a, better-late-than-never, college, contemporary-romance, dirty-talk, don-t-think-with-your-dick, erotica, forbidden-fruit, guilty-pleasures, its-getting-hot-in-here, little-or-no-review, not-memorable, romance, standalone, too-much-sex-too-little-plot, unlikeable-characters, unpopular-opinion, what-the-actual-fuck
review:
This had a really interesting premise and the scenes were steammmy. Unfortunately, both the plot and the characters felt like they were lacking something and I didn't really like either.

Radio Silence

Sun, 28 Jul 2019 10:46:17 -0700

author: Alice Oseman
name: Alex �� Comets and Comments ��
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/07/28
shelves: to-read
review:

Lies

Sun, 28 Jul 2019 05:02:58 -0700

author: Kylie Scott
name: Alex �� Comets and Comments ��
average rating: 3.67
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at: 2019/07/26
date added: 2019/07/28
shelves: arc, alex-rolled-her-eyes-way-too-often, contemporary-romance, fake-marriage, little-or-no-review, new-adult, not-memorable, romance, romantic-thriller, second-chances, standalone, suspense, unlikeable-characters, unpopular-opinion
review:
*sigh*

dnf @ 28% - unfortunately, this one wasn't for me.... I found the narrative and characters to lack dimension and it was hard to actually root for Thom and Betty. The premise of this story had me sold initially because doesn't it just sounds like a hollywood blockbuster??? While I can imagine it on screen, the execution in this book was just... meh.

A Court of Wings and Ruin (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #3)

Wed, 24 Jul 2019 07:18:09 -0700

author: Sarah J. Maas
name: Alex �� Comets and Comments ��
average rating: 4.41
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/07/24
shelves: young-adult, to-read, try-again-later
review:

Priest (Priest, #1)

Thu, 11 Jul 2019 00:30:24 -0700

author: Sierra Simone
name: Alex �� Comets and Comments ��
average rating: 3.59
book published: 2015
rating: 2
read at: 2019/07/10
date added: 2019/07/11
shelves: angst-with-a-capital-a, contemporary-romance, dirty-talk, don-t-think-with-your-dick, erotica, forbidden-fruit, guilty-pleasures, insta-love-bug, its-getting-hot-in-here, little-or-no-review, panty-dropper, romance, sexual-tension, short-reads, swallowed-it-whole, taboo, unpopular-opinion
review:
This was a great quick read that I gobbled up during my flight! Although the trope was unique, the plot felt to be too cliche and having read and loved A Lesson In Thorns by Sierra Simone, this definitely felt like it lacked a lot of substance. There were also some lines of dialogue that really bothered me :/

The Wild (The Wild, #1)

Thu, 11 Jul 2019 00:22:35 -0700

author: K. Webster
name: Alex �� Comets and Comments ��
average rating: 3.50
book published: 2017
rating: 1
read at: 2019/07/10
date added: 2019/07/11
shelves: alex-rolled-her-eyes-way-too-often, darker-than-my-soul, dirty-talk, double-pov, little-or-no-review, never-again, no-in-every-language-in-the-cosmos, psychopaths-what, standalone, taboo, what-the-actual-fuck
review:
this was all kinds of no.

doyenne.

Thu, 11 Jul 2019 00:19:33 -0700

author: Anne Malcom
name: Alex �� Comets and Comments ��
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at: 2019/06/08
date added: 2019/07/11
shelves: arc, alex-rolled-her-eyes-way-too-often, little-or-no-review, not-memorable, psychopaths-what, romance, standalone, unpopular-opinion, unlikeable-characters
review:
I really couldn't get into this one and this is the second book from this author that was a miss, so I might have to call it quits :/

A Court of Mist and Fury (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #2)

Sun, 23 Jun 2019 01:06:19 -0700

author: Sarah J. Maas
name: Alex �� Comets and Comments ��
average rating: 4.60
book published: 2016
rating: 5
read at: 2019/06/17
date added: 2019/06/23
shelves: 2019-favorites, adventure, all-time-favorites, angst-with-a-capital-a, beautiful-doesnt-even-cut-it, better-late-than-never, cliffhanger-syndrome, dirty-talk, enemies-to-lovers, fae, fairytale-retelling, family-power, fantastical-creatures, fantasy-me-up, high-fantasy, hype-is-real, i-like-big-books-and-i-cannot-lie, magic, my-heart-is-on-the-carpet, never-forget, romance, sexual-tension, slow-burn, thin-line-between-love-and-hate, new-adult
review:
some of you have never gone to war and been separated from your group of four (4) ~~friends~~ children for fifty years, shielded your city of stars, had to bed evil faerie jessica rabbit whilst dreaming of your true soulmate, endured your soulmate hating you (enemies to lovers slowburn, angst with killer sexual tension, 300k+ words) and proceeded to enter yet another war....and honestly, it shows.

~ RTC. This book killed me. ~

A Court of Thorns and Roses (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #1)

Sun, 23 Jun 2019 01:06:03 -0700

author: Sarah J. Maas
name: Alex �� Comets and Comments ��
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at: 2019/06/11
date added: 2019/06/23
shelves: angst-with-a-capital-a, better-late-than-never, beautiful-doesnt-even-cut-it, cliffhanger-syndrome, fantastical-creatures, family-power, fantasy-me-up, forbidden-fruit, friends-to-lovers, guilty-pleasures, high-fantasy, hype-is-real, i-like-big-books-and-i-cannot-lie, insta-love-bug, prose-before-hoes, recommended-to-me, romance, unlikeable-characters, new-adult, fae, adventure, magic, fairytale-retelling, 2019-favorites
review:
“I wasn’t faerie, but I was a part of this earth, and the earth was a part of me, and I would be content to dance upon it for the rest of my life.��

~3.5 stars~

ACOTAR was nothing short of a delightful enigma, there was so much in this novel that I adored and some things that I wish were better. It blew me all the way away and left me wanting more of its glorious world and even mightier characters.

note: copyright of all fanart goes to their amazing artists
_______________

The Land of The Fae
So not only was this my first SJM book but it was also my first book solely based around Fae! (For the hardcore faerie fans out there, I'll send you the address of the rock I've been living under alongside an apology note.) BUT, in my defense I think this was probably the best book to start in order to both understand and learn to love the creatures. Beauty and the Beast has long been a Disney favourite of mine and the lush scenery as well as the lyrical writing in this novel made me swoon everytime I understood a faint reference and had me at the edge of my seat everytime it diverged from the classic tale.

“Beauty didn’t mean anything in the forest.��

To be completely honest, the latter 25% of the book was a solid 4 stars for me and the beginning was bordering a 3. This was really down to the fact that I wanted more to happen. The pacing felt jolting at times and often I felt the storyline had assets that seemed unnecessary to the higher plot. I disliked that almost everything was revealed during the last 15% of the book. The infodump was overwhelming and I wish it had been spaced out a tad more cleverly.

Regardless, I loved the mysterious and wicked atmosphere paired with some fantastic characters and plot twists. Prythian is both dangerous and sultry, from its curses, royalty, and magical beasts. From trusted reviewers and friends, I've been advised that the second book deserves all the stars and more, so I'm definitely reading that next!

The Characters
The characters drove the story for me, at least more than the actual plot. For once in a YA/NA fantasy novel, (this is definitely New Adult but has been advertised as Young Adult which is a controversy in itself) I liked the main heroine! Feyre was like a breath of fresh air. I enjoyed her stubbornness and maturity, I like that she made mistakes but knew where and when she was in the wrong. I also loved that she was portrayed as strong and un-doormaty... Yes, she has her flaws but I'm not going to complain when we finally have a 19-year old hardworking main character that believes in her values and develops through the book.

The side characters (Lucien, Rhysand and Alis) stole the show for me. My heart went out for them. I am definitely Team Rhysand but I'll get into that later ;) I felt like the dynamic between the courts and the tension from the "blight" was written really well. I followed with the backstory and the history of Prythian throughout the novel and I honestly fell for each character's story arc. Lucien has a heart of gold and Rhysand is a walking, talking stick of ego that somehow has something soft within him. Alis was my own Mrs. Potts, with her charm and blunt personality and I never felt like any of the chapters that they were in were filler chapters. Towards the end, I started getting giddy whenever Rhysand was in a chapter... (Tamlin is very irrelevant to me... but I've got a whole ass section for him coming)

“Can faeries be friends with mortals?��
“Five hundred years ago, enough faeries were friends with mortals that they went to war on their behalf.��

One of the only parts that actually made me tear up slightly was a scene between Nesta (Feyre's sister) and Feyre during the second-half of the story. Nesta seems like she's going to have the biggest character development arc and I am here for it. Lil' cold-hearted ice queen is ready to be thawed out!

The Romance
I dislike Tamlin.

There are so many reviews that I have read now and posts where people have mocked themselves for liking Tamlin in the beginning and I kinda feel left out. But no. From the minute Feyre was held captive in his manor, there was something about his character that I couldn't settle with. He was unnerving and uncomfortable in his scenes. Some of his dialogue between Feyre and him had me cringing at the lack of chemistry. So, I can't tell you how relieved I was when I felt sparks between Rhysand and Feyre.

Throughout the novel, my experience with the romance was dull. It felt forced and alarming at times. Tamlin was also the only character I felt that had no true personality... I wanted to go with the whole "captor with a heart, knight in shining armor" vibe that the story was trying to go for but I just felt like this man was taking advantage of the entire situation. [spoilers removed]

“It took me a long while to realize that Rhysand, whether he knew it or not, had effectively kept me from shattering completely.��

Don't get me wrong, the situation with Rhysand and Feyre echoes shades of romanticized trickery as well, (I see this as a little bit of a dark romance that hopefully blooms in the next book) but I enjoyed that Feyre stuck to her own during her time Under The Mountain. I was actually quite sad when this book ended because it felt like I finished a journey in this new world. I'm so ready for ACOMAF, it's actually embarrassing at this point.

““Why are you here, then?��
The man’s remarkable eyes seemed to glow—with enough of a deadly edge that I backed up a step. “Because all the monsters have been let out of their cages tonight, no matter what court they belong to. So I may roam wherever I wish until the dawn.”��

Pre-review
your girl is finally bracing her first SJM book... i was promised that my crops would be thriving, my skin would be clear, my vision would be 20/20 and my heart would be full. i expect nothing less.

Sunstone, Vol. 1

Sat, 22 Jun 2019 10:11:11 -0700

author: Stjepan Šejić
name: Alex �� Comets and Comments ��
average rating: 4.31
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at: 2019/05/24
date added: 2019/06/22
shelves: little-or-no-review, 2019-favorites, beautiful-doesnt-even-cut-it, dirty-talk, cute-and-cuddly, contemporary-romance, comic, erotica, graphic-novel, hidden-gems, lgbtq, ff, wlw, swallowed-it-whole, panty-dropper, recommended-to-me, romance, sexual-tension
review:
this was magic...

A Lesson in Thorns (Thornchapel, #1)

Sun, 16 Jun 2019 03:13:38 -0700

author: Sierra Simone
name: Alex �� Comets and Comments ��
average rating: 3.83
book published: 2019
rating: 5
read at: 2019/03/16
date added: 2019/06/16
shelves: arc, erotica, panty-dropper, dirty-talk, pop-that-cherry, romance, sexual-tension, what-the-actual-fuck, angst-with-a-capital-a, beautiful-doesnt-even-cut-it, darker-than-my-soul, forbidden-fruit, guilty-pleasures, haunting, hidden-gems, its-getting-hot-in-here, never-forget, thin-line-between-love-and-hate, weird, mmf, m-m, 2019-favorites, all-time-favorites
review:
“The realization that everyone right now is probably throbbing with the need to come shivers over me, and I have a brief fantasy of all of them—every last one of them—using my body to sate themselves with. My mouth and my tight cunt and everything, until every last person is spent and loose.��

Ms. Simone, you filthy, dirty, brilliant woman...

_______________

After several cold showers...
I don't really know where to even begin with this beautifully screwed up story. This was so enrapturing and stunningly sexy, to the point where I can't even begin to tell you what it's about. *sigh* I didn't know the premise of the story when I started and I enjoyed it even more because of it. Just trust that you should go into this blind, and open your mind to all the foul and dirty creations that Sierra Simone very magically devises.

There are certain trigger warnings that the author posted during the cover reveal that is perhaps all you need to know:
"CONTENT WARNING: pretty boys pouting and staring at the rain, old library filled to the brim with moldering manuscripts full of secrets, aggressively bisexual, ritual deflowering of virgins, kink, angst, blood, jealousy, archival minutiae, Latin words, tragic backstories, murder, Prosecco, and a dog"

But if you're like me, those would have only intrigued you even further. As soon as I started reading this, the atmosphere was enchanting. It almost felt like there was a sense of magical element, a paranormal asset to the setting. Thornchapel is a place, but also a feeling and you can really understand it through the writing. Which brings in how vivid and alluring the writing itself was. I loved the prose and the imagery that was given on every single page, with every single line.

“I bloom like a rose when I’m handled like a weed��

This is going to sound so fucking weird, but if you read YA; this almost gave me Raven Cycle vibes. Like a disturbed, erotic, adult version of the Raven Cycle. We had the whole crew and the mystery and history repeating itself, and slightly magical air.

“You don’t pick up on the vibe here? Like this whole place is cloistered in a strange, timeless little bubble? Like a Sarah Waters novel but with pizza delivery?��

There were so many plot twists that I never saw coming, and I began to realize that expect the unexpected works so perfectly with this book. I loved every single character and all the dynamics between them, the interwoven relationships, the sexual tension. EVERYTHING! It was so hauntingly memorable, and I'm itching to get my hands on book 2. I need more of Thornchapel and Rebecca and Delphine. I need more angst between Saint, Poe and Auden. And damn, if I don't need me some more Becket and Sir James!!! My cute lil gang of horny, kinky adults and their dog.

“Thornchapel waited. And in a clearing in the woods, in a church ruined by thorns and time, something stirred. Something called all six of them by name."

The Dirty Laundry
I've devised a naughty scale for this book:

1: blushing in public.
2: closing the kindle and waiting to get home because there is no way people won't know what your dirty little mind is up to.
3: panty dropper
4: no need to even wear garments anymore, take the day off work and just... read... ;)

If you read this book and enjoy all senses of depravity, you will be somewhere along this scale. (Hopefully)

I can’t tell. And I can’t tell who can see what, but I do know that it’s a forcefully erotic idea. That if they wanted, my friends could see my cunt. Maybe they could pet it, maybe they could lean down and kiss it to make it feel better. I could almost cry with how much I want that.

In all honesty, I feel like "erotic" is an understatement. But yes, this book was all sorts of erotic but it was erotica with a fucking interesting storyline. I find it really hard to enjoy 100% erotica because there is often no plot or character development. This had all the wet dreams you could ask for but also had me rooting for the characters? turning pages to find out about the certain mysteries of thornchapel? wanting to slip into a coma till the sequel comes out in summer? yes.

Red, White & Royal Blue

Sun, 16 Jun 2019 03:11:28 -0700

author: Casey McQuiston
name: Alex �� Comets and Comments ��
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2019
rating: 5
read at: 2019/03/07
date added: 2019/06/16
shelves: arc, all-time-favorites, beautiful-doesnt-even-cut-it, contemporary-romance, cute-and-cuddly, enemies-to-lovers, family-power, forbidden-fruit, friends-to-lovers, hidden-gems, hype-is-real, i-like-big-books-and-i-cannot-lie, lgbtq, m-m, my-heart-is-on-the-carpet, netgalley, never-forget, new-adult, panty-dropper, prose-before-hoes, recommended-to-me, romance, sexual-tension, standalone, thin-line-between-love-and-hate, 2019-favorites
review:
“But the truth is, also, simply this: love is indomitable."

My heart is so entirely full, it's nearly overflowing. This book was in a word; matchless. I laughed, I loved, I cried but mostly loved every beautiful little thing that led up to the last page. Now, having finished, I wish for nothing more but to go all the way back to the beginning and start again. As readers, sometimes -very rarely- you come across a book that quintessentially becomes a mantra, a new sense of hope and a burst of something you never really knew existed.
I don't think I will ever forget this novel.

_______________

On the off chance this book hasn't already won you over...

For a glimpse on my current situation:
i'm sporting sweatpants, haven't cooked for more than 24 hours, hair's an absolute mess, feel like screaming how gay i am out the window, and completely abandoned my responsibilities.
my horoscope did not prepare me for this.

When this book is published, and readers pick it up for the first time, I'm going to be sitting and watching all the emotions unfurl and all the fan;art,fiction,girling commence. And while I sit and watch, I'm going to be so jealous of everyone that has the luxury of reading this for the first time.

It's equal parts funny and loving and clever and tragic. I made a note on my kindle at page 3 stating "this is it," because that's how much I could feel the energy of a fucking brilliant book in my hands. The camaraderie and friendship combined with rebellion and sexy banter is almost too good to be in one novel. This is quite possibly the easiest five stars I have ever given.

"So, you can hate the heir to the throne all you want, write mean poems about him in your diary, but the minute you see a camera, you act like the sun shines out of his dick, and you make it convincing.��
“Have you met Henry?�� Alex says. “How am I supposed to do that? He has the personality of a cabbage.��

A Tribute

In more ways than one, the story behind Alex and Henry's relationship is magic. There is quite a lot of politics involved, quite a lot of drunkedness and quite a lot of soft moments that make you clutch your kindle slightly tighter.

"But he thinks about Henry, and, oh. He thinks about Henry, and something twists in his chest, like a stretch he’s been avoiding for too long."

This was an enemies to lovers romance with so much more going for it. A beautiful feeling arose throughout the book as I saw the family and the omnipresent feeling of hope through friends. Nora gave me life and made me swoon. June was someone we all need in our life, alongside Pez. Bea was the softest cinnamon role in the whole bakery and when they were all together, my heart started singing.

“Alexander, babes,�� Pez says when he picks up. “How lovely for you to give your auntie Pezza a ring on this magnificent Sunday morning.�� He’s smiling from what looks like the passenger seat of a luxury car, wearing a cartoonishly large sunhat and a striped pashmina."

I wish I could go up to every one that will ever have doubts about reading this book and beg them to give it a chance. Sometimes, I'm skeptical about picking up new authors - especially, when they are debuting with a genre that means so much to me. Yet, here I am, falling incredibly in love with everything this book is and will continue to be in my life.

“Never tell me the odds."

Jersey Six

Sat, 15 Jun 2019 04:32:14 -0700

author: Jewel E. Ann
name: Alex �� Comets and Comments ��
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at: 2019/06/15
date added: 2019/06/15
shelves: arc, alex-rolled-her-eyes-way-too-often, dnf, little-or-no-review, not-memorable, romance, standalone, thin-line-between-love-and-hate, unpopular-opinion, contemporary-romance
review:
~ dnf @20% ~
*sigh* Unfortunately, I couldn't get into this one and I tried starting over twice before I gave it a rest. This seems like it has a really interesting plot and the characters are unique. This is such an unpopular opinion because so far nearly everyone that has picked this up has enjoyed it. This was my first Jewel E Ann novel and I definitely want to try a couple of her other stories again in the near future before calling it quits.

Wicked Saints (Something Dark and Holy, #1)

Tue, 11 Jun 2019 14:34:41 -0700

author: Emily A. Duncan
name: Alex �� Comets and Comments ��
average rating: 3.55
book published: 2019
rating: 1
read at: 2019/06/01
date added: 2019/06/11
shelves: better-late-than-never, high-fantasy, alex-rants-shelf, alex-rolled-her-eyes-way-too-often, double-pov, enemies-to-lovers, fantasy-me-up, fantastical-creatures, fiction, forbidden-fruit, horrorlicious, insta-love-bug, not-memorable, trigger-warning, unlikeable-characters, unpopular-opinion, what-the-actual-fuck, young-adult, war, religion-or-faith
review:
“Blood and blood and bone. Magic and monsters and tragic power.��

Everything that has needed to be said has probably already been said about this book. I wanted to love this one so bad and what started off as a great exposition went downhill very fast. I'm still kinda just sitting here blinking... confused...unsure

copyright of all fanart goes to their amazing artists:

_______________

Is it really possible to be that bored?

Short answer = yes.
Long answer =

Wicked Saints is truly a lavish tale that echoes nostalgic memories of all your favourite YA high fantasy novels. I think if it had been published sometime during 2013, this would have taken me by storm. The magic system (only winning factor) and the world building (although lacking) was both interesting and enticing. Unfortunately, I wish there was something else that helped me cling to the story and keep reading but I felt like I was forcing myself to finish instead.

The first thing I would like to say that I almost always say if it is an issue:
Do authors feel embarrassed if they don't address their trigger warnings? I mean surely, it shouldn't be up to the reader to go look for them prior to reading the book! This has been and will continue to be a problem with me. I think trigger warnings should clearly be stated before the reader begins... Any-which-way;

TW: blood, gore, self harm, torture, parental abuse.

Secondly, there seemed to be no plot. It didn't quite reach a stream of consciousness writing style, but it also didn't seem like anything was moving. It felt like we were following the characters through snapshots and the plot was just something that could have been done. Serefin was the only saving grace for me, and we got little to no arc development or character development for HIM. I was also struggling to differentiate the voices between the dual POV's. Other than the fact the Gods can speak to Nadya mentally, the voices very rarely differed.

“Nadya was supposed to remain a secret for another year, training in the holy mountains with priests who—while they did not have magic themselves—understood the fundamentals of divinity. Like how a peasant girl could be the one thing that would save Kalyazin from the heretics�� torches. But war didn’t care for carefully laid plans.��

I really wanted to dnf at the 50% mark. I felt like I was trudging through this entire story and I wanted to be able to love it as much as my GR and book reviewing buddies did. I can say that although there were a lot of filler chapters, I loved being "thrown into the action."

The romance.... I love reading romance. I love all the tingly feelings and the magic in the air. I enjoy rooting for the character's and seeing them fall for each other in real-time. BUT THIS... I felt no connection at all and the romance felt more like a friendship because there was so much insta-love. I also ended up wanting the two characters NOT to be together. Every two seconds we were reminded by Nadya that; he was a monster, he was cruel and evil, he's not to be trusted however pretty he is!... I didn't feel the enemies to lovers trope at all.

I really feel like everything was just meh. I wanted so much more and nothing really delivered. Which brings me to the point that everything was just so boring... So much in the story was left undeveloped and open to surface interpretation. I feel like the problems that the characters went through and the hurdles they had to overcome diminished to nothing when it was game time. There was such big talk of having to fulfill a certain event, and the event would come and go without me even realizing it.

I love books that fly by, but with this I had to re-read paragraphs a couple times, multiple times in order to understand what was happening. It wasn't that the language was hard to interpret or the layout was difficult to read. Simply, my mind kept wandering off to different things and I kept losing interest.

Additionally, when it comes to diversity and representation, this book seemed to have so many cannon LGBTQ reps. There were also so many indicators to other representations such as Serefin's potential alcohol addiction. I just wish it was developed further instead of being left to the sideline. That said, I don't need any and all representation to be part of the primary plotline or story, but I felt like the presentation of it as a whole was overall lacking.

“Blood wasn’t a thing to be made light of, not in these times.��

This story had so much potential for breaking the boundaries of YA fantasy and spotlighting much needed topics. I loved the focus on faith, philosophy, religion, moral and ethics. I even loved the fact that this time the villain, was very easy to root for even through their destruction. I wanted to unpack this book and theorize all sorts of different outcomes and routes that the characters and the plot would take but it really turned a different path for me.

Pretty Scars

Tue, 11 Jun 2019 12:45:24 -0700

author: C.D. Reiss
name: Alex �� Comets and Comments ��
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2019
rating: 3
read at: 2019/05/25
date added: 2019/06/11
shelves: arc, angst-with-a-capital-a, beautiful-doesnt-even-cut-it, college, contemporary-romance, darker-than-my-soul, double-pov, forbidden-fruit, haunting, hype-is-real, money-money-money, new-adult, pop-that-cherry, romance, second-chances, sexual-tension, standalone, the-one-that-got-away, unlikeable-characters
review:
“There are notes that go together. Play them alone and they’re fine, but play them together and it makes music. No matter the instrument or what part of the world you’re in, they’re linked by a chord. That’s us. We were waiting for the moment the world put us together. I can’t unhear us now.��

This multilayered book packed so many punches and heartbreaks...I prepared for a simple camping trip but I was hit by a fucking whirlwind.

_______________

The Story
This review has taken me a good five days to think over because I couldn't seem to come up with a rating or a cohesive string of thoughts that could help people before or after they pick this book up.

I think that's the true beauty of Pretty Scars... it's such a dark-veiled and gritty story that it's almost too real for comfort. But that uncomfortable feeling falling into a narrative that truthfully, has such little light magnifies how bright those little lights are. I wouldn't characterize this as a love story, fight me. This to me, was a story of hope.

Before you start second-guessing, yes there is romance! In fact, what drew me into the world at the start was the chemistry between Carrie and Gabriel. Carrie has what she calls pretty-girl-syndrome, wherein, her beauty is her power but also her curse. (Yes, this is a very materialistic and cliche plotline but stay with me.) Carrie is also a Drazen, a family that for all intents and purposes should make your blood crawl. Declan Drazen (the father) is somewhat a mogul for all the wrong reasons. We meet Gabriel and Carrie when they both attend USC, and the sparks fly almost immediately when Carrie listens to Gabriel playing his violin.

"When she smiled, the sun hit its highest point in the sky."

The story jumps from present to past and we see the mystery behind the love unfold in very cleverly constructed manner. The time jumps took a while to adapt to but once I got the hang of it, I really enjoyed watching the story come to life. There were scenes in this book that completely blew me away! The fear, longing, desire and everything in between was so heavily built that it felt like I was there with the character's themselves.

"Maybe Gabriel and I were linked in a way so small yet grand only music could activate it. His playing touched me, his presence shook me. He couldn’t stay away. The laws of physics demanded he call me."

Although this book teeters on a 3 -4 star rating, it truly lies somewhere in the middle for me. There was a lot that I loved but there were also some aspects that I didn't quite enjoy. One thing that I can say for sure though is C. D Reiss' writing is so elegantly beautiful and simple, that it completely stole the show.

"With him, I didn’t feel pretty. I felt complete."

The Characters

Here were some of the issues I faced;
Carrie's character fell flat during the beginning of the story. I felt like I wanted more from her in a deeper way to get me attached. She was really the only one I was rooting for, so I feel like it's safe for me to want more. Towards the end, I ended up sympathizing with her plight. It was so cleverly built that just as she lost herself in the past, we get to see her finding herself in the present.

Here's another little issue;

Did I like Gabriel? No
Did I like Carrie? Not really
Did I like Peter? N(and I can't stress this enough)O!!!

I'd like to imagine that the purpose of this book was to end up not liking both Peter and Gabriel, but that's just wishful thinking. Sure, Gabriel was hands-down a hero compared to Peter but something about him still didn't sit right with me. It was like having your favourite type of tea but still feeling the leafy residue in between your teeth afterwards. (Weird analogy, let's move on...)

I need something light after this book, there was so much to be unpacked and thought of that I really do hope this gets a lot of recognition. I will most definitely be reading more of this author in the future and after having done some research, I look forward to diving back into the Drazen world. There is definitely something to be said about a book that can make you both love and hate it all in the time-span of the 3 days it took me to complete it. It was mesmerizing and oh-so captivating. The story really cuts deeper than a knife and half the time, I didn't know if I wanted to put it down or never stop reading.

"Why was it so hard to walk away? It was as if there was a string between us, and every step pulled it tighter. How far could we go without snapping it?"

Butterfly in Frost

Mon, 03 Jun 2019 10:31:36 -0700

author: Sylvia Day
name: Alex �� Comets and Comments ��
average rating: 3.66
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/06/03
shelves: to-read
review:

Method

Tue, 28 May 2019 08:32:53 -0700

author: Kate Stewart
name: Alex �� Comets and Comments ��
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at: 2019/05/28
date added: 2019/05/28
shelves: arc, dnf, angst-with-a-capital-a, better-late-than-never, contemporary-romance, double-pov, little-or-no-review, new-adult, romance, second-chances, standalone, unpopular-opinion
review:
~ dnf @45% ~

This author has caught my eye for a while and I am definitely going to try her stories out again. I think this was just a tad too slow for me and it took a while for me to get remotely get attached to the characters. There was too much time-jumping and the angst/flashbacks felt unnecessary a lot of the time. I loved the premise but unfortunately, it just did not stick.

The Maddest Obsession (Made, #2)

Wed, 22 May 2019 04:01:03 -0700

author: Danielle Lori
name: Alex �� Comets and Comments ��
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2019
rating: 3
read at: 2019/05/22
date added: 2019/05/22
shelves: arc, little-or-no-review, dirty-talk, contemporary-romance, enemies-to-lovers, unpopular-opinion, weird
review:
this rating took a very long time for me to think about... only because this book was both a hit and a kinda-miss? there were parts that I loved and there were parts that made my really cringe... this book started off as a solid read (constantly hitting that 5 star rating) and it progressively lowered, but would then shoot up again. I'm not going to write a full review just because I really have no idea how I feel, but will definitely continue reading Danielle's works.

A Five-Minute Life

Sat, 18 May 2019 11:38:57 -0700

author: Emma Scott
name: Alex �� Comets and Comments ��
average rating: 4.50
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2019/05/15
date added: 2019/05/18
shelves: arc, beautiful-doesnt-even-cut-it, contemporary-romance, cute-and-cuddly, disability, double-pov, hype-is-real, my-heart-is-on-the-carpet, romance, standalone, tears-are-everywhere
review:
"Thea’s eyes widened and so did her smile, and the radiance inside her burst through the cracks of her broken mind, and I saw her.
This girl whom, if we had longer than five minutes, I’d make mine."

I think it's going to be one of my life missions to get as many people as I can to read at least one Emma Scott book.

_______________

�� She takes me away to that special place... ��
Whenever I start an Emma Scott novel, I always seem to get the butterflies all laced with nostalgic excitement because I'm starting something I already know I'm going to love! But, I also get impending feeling of loss because I know that soon enough, it's going to end and all I'm going to do is keep thinking about how wonderful it was.

I seriously envy those of you who have the ability to read this for the first time and feel all the wondrous things only ES can make you feel.

A Five-Minute Life had so much good in it, I feel like I'm on top of the world. There was so much to be learnt in this book, which reached more than just a love story, more than just a romance about two people growing and falling and breaking and fixing. Every single one of Emma's books touches on concepts that are real and valid in the world today.

"Your thoughts aren’t inconsequential.��

The crux of this story was based in Blue Ridge Sanitarium, where we meet Thea Hughes. A resident of BR, she suffers from the second worst documented case of amnesia where she constantly "resets" every five minutes. When Jim and Thea meet, sparks flew off the page. As Jim started falling for her, I started falling for them. It reminded me of all the romance movies you sit and watch eating a tub of ice cream in a shirt soaked in tears. It was so beautiful <3

I’d never seen anything so beautiful in my life. She swayed like willow tree, slender and delicate, while I was the oak rooted in front of her. Between her and the world, protecting her as best as I could.

My heart is so full even writing this review and if ever you are double guessing about picking up this book or any other by ES, please do it. Not for anyone except yourself. Trust me when I say that these words are worth so much more than a shot.

�� And if I'd stare too long... ��
There are lines in this book that made me ache. That's how breath-taking Emma's writing can be... so good that it makes you sore.

This book touched so much on "broken people" and how people can break through different ways and in different manners, but that doesn't negate or undermine the pain. I loved so many characters in this book. From Rita and Alonzo to Jim and Thea, the characters in this book were so emotionally captivating and I wanted to hug the little family that I came to love.

"Can you imagine? Loving someone so much that the thought of life without them is too unbearable?��

With all the brilliance that this book has, and trust me it's mesmerizing. Personally, it did have certain flaws that I wish I could look the other way to and give this a 5 star rating. But, that wouldn't be like me at all ;) The only trouble I really had was that the chemistry between Thea and Jim often short-circuited at times. I felt like their love was raw and real, but some of what took place was often predictable.

This book is split into three "parts" and although I loved all three parts, the first section of the book will always be my favourite. Just because we get to see the pain within the beauty and how suffering can make you bloom. I truly treasured this story and I still stand true to my stance that I will read whatever Emma puts out in the future without thinking twice. I'm not scared to say that I hope her novels will be looked at as classics in the Romance genre for generations to come.

“You don’t have enough to keep loving me. Only five minutes.�� “That’s all I need. That’s all I ever needed.��

Drumline

Tue, 07 May 2019 17:19:34 -0700

author: Stacy Kestwick
name: Alex �� Comets and Comments ��
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2017
rating: 1
read at: 2017/11/23
date added: 2019/05/07
shelves: alex-rolled-her-eyes-way-too-often, contemporary-romance, dnf, don-t-think-with-your-dick, double-pov, insta-love-bug, new-adult, standalone, unlikeable-characters, unpopular-opinion
review:
"His dick was huge. The story he told me earlier about how he acquired Oscar flitted through my mind. That was definitely a prize-winning specimen."

dnf at 32%

It was like drinking orange juice right after brushing your teeth.
It was like stepping on a lego piece.
It was like watching someone eat pizza with a knife and fork.

“As captain, I’ll go first. And, Marco, since I know how much you’re threatened by Reese’s dick being bigger than yours, I’ll take her.��

_______________

The Plot
The story had so much potential, but I really could not get behind the chemistry, or the characters. The whole drumline plot was so unique and different to all other New Adult stories out there, I was looking forward to reading it!

Although, I would not class it as 'insta-love', it felt like it. The main characters felt too much and wanted too much from each other in just a week of knowing each other!! There is a significant difference in physical attraction / lust to love. We have little Laird over here already imagining their fucking kids within seeing her for three days.

Straight off the bat, I found the writing to be very mediocre and it just did not rub off the right way. There were some lines that were said, that was so cringey and unrealistic - especially within the age group and demographic of the characters.

"Today, I was fucking cranky.... frustrated because I hadn’t been laid in the last month and my balls were aching to empty themselves somewhere other than down the shower drain."
- Chapter One.
(great start ladies and gentlemen)

I really felt like this could go a long way if the execution had been better. This was my first Stacy Kestwick novel, and although it was a bust - I am not completely put off in reading her future novels.

Bringing Down the Duke (A League of Extraordinary Women, #1)

Mon, 06 May 2019 03:49:29 -0700

author: Evie Dunmore
name: Alex �� Comets and Comments ��
average rating: 3.91
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/05/06
shelves: to-read
review:

Bad Boy Blues (St. Mary’s Rebels #0)

Fri, 19 Apr 2019 01:33:16 -0700

author: Saffron A. Kent
name: Alex �� Comets and Comments ��
average rating: 3.70
book published: 2019
rating: 2
read at: 2019/04/19
date added: 2019/04/19
shelves: alex-rolled-her-eyes-way-too-often, little-or-no-review, angst-with-a-capital-a, enemies-to-lovers, bully, contemporary-romance, dirty-talk, don-t-think-with-your-dick, dnf, jealousy, standalone, unpopular-opinion
review:
And so begins my hit or miss relationship with Ms. Kent...

The Mister (Mister & Missus, #1)

Thu, 18 Apr 2019 10:59:55 -0700

author: E.L. James
name: Alex �� Comets and Comments ��
average rating: 3.40
book published: 2019
rating: 1
read at: 2019/04/16
date added: 2019/04/18
shelves: romance, upcoming, alex-rolled-her-eyes-way-too-often, alex-rants-shelf, angst-with-a-capital-a, dnf, don-t-think-with-your-dick, erotica, never-again, no-in-every-language-in-the-cosmos, not-memorable, standalone, unlikeable-characters, what-the-actual-fuck
review:
"Yes. For a woman dressed in a nylon housecoat, she’s hot."

well i mean, at least i'll have a new joke to tell my therapist this week. dnf @30% (i tried, i swear)

_______________

*cracks knuckles*
Let's start by taking you on the journey. From start to ~~finish~~ 30% (i mean, i was finished by about 5% but I was raised to be a trooper and troop i did.)

When I first saw that Ms. James was launching a new standalone novel, my first thought like I assume all other people's thoughts were went to FSOG. That trilogy regardless of whether it was a disaster, a passer-by or a godsend in your life, was something of a global Category 5, DEFCON 1, 10th magnitude phenomena that took the world by storm.

Having read FSOG a long time back (just the first one. unfortunately, i couldn't troop for more.) I don't really remember my thoughts and whether I liked it or not didn't matter because looking back now, I don't really like what it stands for. Yet still, I respect all those lovers of the romance because for some, It actually regenerated / originated their love for the genre.

So, I thought what better way to gather my thoughts about this author then to read her upcoming standalone. By now, her writing would have improved right? her character development and her plot skills must have enhanced somehow? their should be some any sort of improvement?

i can't believe i put on my good crocs for this
Without even starting the book, I was cautious about the premise. A wealthy, manwhorey, newly appointed Earl starts getting the hots for his illegally immigrated with a language barrier, beautiful in pink granny panties (he actually had to point this out), apparently limited access to technology house cleaner. Before I even get into all the NO, ERIKA, NO!'s in that... let me give you a treat.

�� Chapter One.
First fucking line.
*ahem*

"Mindless sex—there’s a lot to be said for it. No commitments, no expectations, and no disappointments; I just have to remember their names. Who was it last time? Jojo? Jeanne? Jody? Whatever. She was some nameless fuck who moaned a great deal both in and out of bed."

�� We proceed to find out that his brother just died and he is currently fucking his brother's wife.

"She is and always will be my first love, my first fuck…my disastrous first fuck. And years later she’d chosen my brother, not me. But in spite of all that, we managed to remain good friends and keep our hands off each other—until Kit’s death."

�� He is now "Lord Trevethick." When it comes to names in books, I have no problem if the author has either random-word-generated or dictionary-swallowed names in their story. But that doesn't mean that once in a while I'll get a name that I love to absoulte bits. This name was the only selling point in this story, it brought me comedic relief. Everytime I read it, i giggled. Maxim be thicker than a snicker.

�� The writing was so poor. It felt very amateur and I shit you not, I felt like Gollum was speaking sometimes. Both of them had inner monologues (ofcourse, we like to keep the inner goddesses here in the ELJ headquarters) that were constantly repetitive and yappy. If Smeagle was the vibe ELJ was going for when writing her romance. Then yes 10/10 stars;

"She’s hot. And willing. Yes, very willing."

“It was a surprise finding him here asleep. Yes. That’s it. That’s all.��

�� The dialogue and the monologue was all very jarring and juxtaposed. It felt like I was in the front seat of a car that kept braking and going, getting whiplash from the damn seatbelt. The writing was juvenile because it wasn't descriptive at all. It was this then that and here's how it made me feel a lil'

“I want to know. No. I don’t want to know. I do. I don’t. I glance at the dashboard. Shit. I’m speeding. Slow the fuck down, mate. I ease my foot off the accelerator. Steady. I take a deep, cleansing breath. Calm down.��

�� I absolutely hate when there is no character development or dimensions, something that lets you get hooked to loving the story because you're rooting for the characters. But something I hate even more is when authors use diversity in their books and don't even get it right. There are so many reviews coming out that note specifics on how the portrayal of Albanians is very incorrect in this book.

�� The insta love was strong with this one. In truth, the whole cliche damsel in distress getting saved by dominating and rich man that suddenly changes his ways is very overdone. But like I say in a lot of my reviews, with romance there are so many tropes that are overplayed. But there is still a way that authors can use that to their advantage and still come out with a good and gripping story! I found it very unconvincing that our male MC went from this;

“I wasn’t sure. Modeling could be mind-numbingly boring, but after I was sent down from Oxford, the work had gotten me out of bed and given me an excuse to stay in shape. I also got to meet hot, skinny women.��

to this;

“I want her��. That’s the truth. I’ve never felt like this before. Everything has happened so fast. And I still don’t know if I’m doing the right thing. But I know I can’t abandon her to those lowlifes. I want to protect her.��

�� Lastly, there was absolutely no chemistry. What there was plenty of though was WTF moments. Lines and directions that just made me jerk back because who thinks of this kinda thing? For example, there is a scene where Maxim is asleep and he unconsciously kisses Alessia. Her monologue shows that she wants it but also doesn't at the same time (there is a lot of foreshadowing to her having a bad history with men). Right after we get this;

�� it’s not just me. Maybe she just doesn’t like men. This thought is even more upsetting, so I brush it aside.��

then this;

“All my plans, all my fantasies will be for nothing if she can’t bear to be with a man…any man. And I realize that I can’t touch her. Fuck.��

Amelia Westlake

Tue, 16 Apr 2019 06:24:39 -0700

author: Erin Gough
name: Alex �� Comets and Comments ��
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/04/16
shelves: to-read
review:

These Witches Don't Burn (These Witches Don't Burn, #1)

Tue, 16 Apr 2019 06:19:47 -0700

author: Isabel Sterling
name: Alex �� Comets and Comments ��
average rating: 3.76
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/04/16
shelves: to-read
review:

Hot Dog Girl

Tue, 16 Apr 2019 06:00:05 -0700

author: Jennifer Dugan
name: Alex �� Comets and Comments ��
average rating: 3.47
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/04/16
shelves: to-read
review:

Falls Boys (Hellbent, #1)

Tue, 16 Apr 2019 05:18:17 -0700

author: Penelope Douglas
name: Alex �� Comets and Comments ��
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/04/16
shelves: to-read
review:

Enthralled (The Enslaved Duet #1)

Sat, 13 Apr 2019 09:26:00 -0700

author: Giana Darling
name: Alex �� Comets and Comments ��
average rating: 3.84
book published: 2019
rating: 2
read at: 2019/04/03
date added: 2019/04/13
shelves: little-or-no-review, alex-rolled-her-eyes-way-too-often, angst-with-a-capital-a, better-late-than-never, darker-than-my-soul, dirty-talk, don-t-think-with-your-dick, enemies-to-lovers, erotica, guilty-pleasures, insta-love-bug, its-getting-hot-in-here, not-memorable, pop-that-cherry, romance, mafia, trigger-warning, unlikeable-characters, unpopular-opinion, what-the-actual-fuck, jealousy, too-much-sex-too-little-plot
review:
"He wanted me broken. A beautiful, hollow shell to break open and fuck into. It wasn’t enough to own my person and rape my body. He wanted to empty my soul so that the only thing I was filled with was his cock and his cum."

This started really good and I really enjoyed Giana Darling's descriptive (although sometimes grammatically incorrect) writing. There were some awkward phrases but I really got into it. Yes, this was really dark and really gritty! There are many triggers and frankly, it wasn't the fact that this was too dark for me. I really just couldn't get into the MCs. The language was unrealistic and the rape felt too easily passed over. I wanted Cosima to have more of a backbone against her master. Alexander felt like a spoilt rich brat that was often very repetitive. The twists were predictable and all in all, I just wanted more. I might consider reading the next installment but *shruggg*

Her Royal Highness (Royals, #2)

Mon, 08 Apr 2019 03:44:47 -0700

author: Rachel Hawkins
name: Alex �� Comets and Comments ��
average rating: 3.73
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/04/08
shelves: to-read
review:

Play It Again

Wed, 03 Apr 2019 10:36:41 -0700

author: Aidan Wayne
name: Alex �� Comets and Comments ��
average rating: 3.65
book published: 2019
rating: 2
read at: 2019/04/03
date added: 2019/04/03
shelves: arc, lgbtq, m-m, ace-aro-rep, alex-rolled-her-eyes-way-too-often, contemporary-romance, cute-and-cuddly, insta-love-bug, little-or-no-review, netgalley, standalone, disability, short-reads
review:
“I think I always feel like being kissed by you...��

{2.5 stars} This was such a fast and soft read, I flew through it! Although it wasn't without its flaws, Sam and Dovid were nerdy-cute jellybeans. Also, !!!YES!!! for ace representation <3

_______________

short and sweet Play it Again follows Dovid and Sam as they find each other through YouTube. Dovid is a blind extroverted YouTuber that documents restaurant reviews, vlogs and the lives of him and his sister, Rachel. One day, Rachel stumbles upon Sam's video gaming channel and soon enough, Dovid starts listening to him. Once Dovid and Sam start talking, they start falling for each other almost immediately.

This was really cute but I really wish there was more of that! I felt like the romance in this book was sparse and very quick. It was definitely insta-love but even that can be done well, if the reader is captured by the characters enough. But unfortunately everytime I was interested in Sam and Dovid's love, something else took the spotlight. For example, the first 10% of the book was basically a restaurant review?? Also, I have never known so much about youtube and vlogging until this book, so if ever any of you need advice, i'm your girl ;) (I'm really not.)

The dialogue felt overly robotic and didn't follow a fluid rhythm I could get into. Dovid and Sam often shared the same voices so it was really hard to emotionally attach myself to the story at all. Although yes, this was indeed very cute and cuddly, I wanted more. I think this book could have so much potential if the characters were fleshed out and the story had more romance. There were some awesome representations in this book and the message was so relevant!

"I’m already attracted to you. Just because of who you are. I’m attracted to you, so you’re attractive. Boom. Done."

Again, But Better

Wed, 03 Apr 2019 09:03:56 -0700

author: Christine Riccio
name: Alex �� Comets and Comments ��
average rating: 3.62
book published: 2019
rating: 1
read at: 2019/04/01
date added: 2019/04/03
shelves: arc, alex-rants-shelf, alex-rolled-her-eyes-way-too-often, angst-with-a-capital-a, college, contemporary-romance, insta-love-bug, never-again, no-in-every-language-in-the-cosmos, not-memorable, romance, trigger-warning, unlikeable-characters, unpopular-opinion, what-the-actual-fuck, young-adult
review:
“Can we start over?��

Writers are often told to write what you know. Even now, when I think of Shane Primaveri; I see Christine Riccio, I hear Christine Riccio, I feel like I fucking know Christine Riccio. So yes, she did write what she knew, because she wrote herself.

_______________

*cries in YA*
I was really hesitant to read this book, but I made an effort to read it independent of its booktube writer. I tried focusing on the story and stayed away from any reviews. It really did not let me, I felt uncomfortable, like a fly on Christine's wall.

Firstly, I want to say that I have no problem with Booktubers getting book deals. I think that it's brilliant that readers, reviewers and writers of Wattpad, Booktube, ŷ�� and even Fanfiction are getting some seriously needed exposure. A writer can be successful regardless of how they started. We really are in a time where publishers want to take and make "smart deals," so giving a person that has a high following a book deal is more monetarily productive than giving an indie author a shot. Which understandably, can go really swell or fucking-jump-ship awful.

This was the latter for me.

I felt like this book had a check list that needed to be fulfilled but each point was taken to the extreme and failed miserably. The check list, was the "ultimate" guide to creating a "popular" YA novel. *ahem* Hello, my name is Alex and welcome to my TED talk;

Step 1) Unique Writing
From page 1, I shit you not, page one - this book had an odd writing style. It was like it was trying to reach for poetic prose but instead fell into something riddling. For example, we are being told she is in a plane here:

"Now, I’m thousands of miles over the Atlantic in a giant hollowed-out pen with wings"

Then there were times where I think humor was added, but again maybe I'm just a soulless sock that doesn't understand comedy. So all in all, this started pretty rough for me.

Step 2) Remember to like, be like, relatable
Of course, EVERYONE loves knowing that their issues aren't only their own and somewhere somehow, someone else is also fighting the same issues. Enter Shane...

"Not literally. But, you know that feeling like light being circulated through your veins when you see someone cute, and all the sudden you explode all over with the thrill of said cute person noticing and acknowledging your existence as a human with whom they could potentially fall into a relationship with?"

"I smile back at him and then look away so as not to appear to be a weird statue that stares at him."

"We’re walking down the sidewalk in London together. Pilot and I. Me and Pilot. A cute boy who’s being nice to me. Who I held a conversation with. My heart is having a dance party. It’s also wondering, is this like, a date? No, it’s not a date, but it’s like �� a something."

The romance was very two dimensional, and maybe because the characters felt under-developed to me. A lot of the time, they came off as cartoonish and unrealistic. I mean come on, if you are going to name the love interest Pilot Penn, he's got to have something going for him? Poor guy got a name from a stationary set.

The romance was all over the shop and insta-love, and as a romance reader, I've read my fair share of messy love stories. Pilot was a character I really didn't enjoy and being 50% of the romance in this story, it was really hard for me to cheer on Shane and him. The underlying cheating throughout the book added angst but it also makes me wonder why a romance is going on between them in the first place?

Step 3) Let's add an unrealistic depiction of a mental disorder
In all seriousness, this was the asset of the book that I really didn't gel with. Shane has social anxiety and at first, I was happy that this was represented in the book. But then, I saw her "social anxiety" and I wanted to literally curl into a ball. Whoever has anxiety or any mental disorder for that fact, knows that it is not just an excuse for awkward and odd social behavior. It is your mind coming up with 10,000 paranoid alterations of reality and it leaves you feeling completely helpless.

I hated the portrayal of anxiety through Shane and if there is one thing I cannot handle is the way people use actual mental diagnoses to sensationalize and romanticize "regular" behavior.

Like when I hear people say shit like "i like having my pens in order, i'm soooo OCD" or "wow, i hate this traffic, I'm actually gonna commit" or "shit, it's monday tomorrow... i'm depressed"

uhmmm NO.

Also the fact that Shane is magically going to cure her anxiety and social nervousness by going to another country and falling in love and making friends and etc etc etc. is false advertising. You cannot measure mental health progress on a linear scale and say this is the start and this is the end. It's such a distorted representation of how truly unforgiving mental health can be.

Step 4) Diversity! YAY!
Any progressive reader knows that diversity in any book is a fucking gift from heaven. I would love to have a shelf solely for diverse reads, our own voices and minority representation. Even better, I would love for those characters to be the main characters *cough cough* but moving on.

But I hate when authors force diversity, like they are doing something just to check it off. That's not the point of what you are trying to achieve. So yes, I will give a point to Christine for trying to add diversity to her storyline but then just because I wish the execution was better, I'm going to take back half that point.

Which brings me to the character dialogue. Everyone shared the same voice. Everything ended with a '!'

Step 5) Writing what you know
Shane is the main character.
Shane is Christine.

I'm not even going to get into this one too much because I'm pretty sure I've said enough already. Everything about Shane Primaveri was Christine Riccio. Their habits, their dialogue, their hobbies... If you want to know Christine on a really personal level, then this might be for you. Unfortunately, it wasn't for me.

The Siren (The Original Sinners, #1)

Mon, 01 Apr 2019 12:32:09 -0700

author: Tiffany Reisz
name: Alex �� Comets and Comments ��
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/04/01
shelves: to-read
review:

Turtles All the Way Down

Mon, 01 Apr 2019 10:40:22 -0700

author: John Green
name: Alex �� Comets and Comments ��
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/04/01
shelves: to-read
review:

Overture (North Security, #1)

Sun, 31 Mar 2019 04:23:28 -0700

author: Skye Warren
name: Alex �� Comets and Comments ��
average rating: 3.91
book published: 2019
rating: 1
read at: 2019/03/31
date added: 2019/03/31
shelves: little-or-no-review, alex-rolled-her-eyes-way-too-often, arc, better-late-than-never, contemporary-romance, dnf, double-pov, forbidden-fruit, never-again, no-in-every-language-in-the-cosmos, not-memorable, review-request, romance, unlikeable-characters, unpopular-opinion, what-the-actual-fuck
review:
dnf @45%

This had so much potential but I really wish it felt more taboo. There was a lot of talk about how forbidden they were, but when it came down to atmosphere and characters, it seemed like everyone was okay with them being together??? I really wish it was more slow burn, were we could feel the sexual tension between them. The fact that he was her guardian since she was twelve and then proceeded to have a sexual attraction towards her seemed to be taken very normally by everyone.

Sinner (Priest, #2)

Fri, 29 Mar 2019 14:21:34 -0700

author: Sierra Simone
name: Alex �� Comets and Comments ��
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2018
rating: 3
read at: 2018/03/16
date added: 2019/03/29
shelves: arc, panty-dropper, contemporary-romance, erotica, family-power, forbidden-fruit, guilty-pleasures, romance, sexual-tension, its-getting-hot-in-here, new-adult, pop-that-cherry
review:
"I know how to make sin feel like heaven."

I'm personally shipping holy water to anyone who reads this, alongside a thorough description on how to take the coldest damn shower before bringing your ass to church.
Because fuck if this book was too hot (hot damn)

_____________

Hi, my name is Alex and I will be doing the honest girl thing

"If you’d told me you wanted it, I would have spent the rest of the night with my mouth on your cunt.' Her eyes widen and I remember we’re in a place run by nuns."

Sinner had some powerful writing and some steamy scenes. Man, can this lady write!
I remember being this enthralled with her prose when I read American Queen, it took me back to how much her chapters can be panty droppers.

This is a story about a sinner and a nun.
Interested?
Me. Too.

The plot line was so unique and I was so ready for everything to be spectacular and while it was I felt like it could have done more. The execution felt very translucent sometimes, like the author was trying too hard to show the taboo rather than focus on letting the reader feel the taboo. Do you get what I mean?

There was certain elements of instant attraction and lust, but it worked!! Did you ever imagine me saying that? It actually didn't feel cringey or cliche at all - maybe that was due to the certain element of mystery and suspense with the first starting chapters. I wanted to read on and everything about the trope was atypically perfect.

“Jesus,�� she whispers, and I can’t tell if it’s a swear or if it’s a prayer

I think the male POV was perfect. I wish I could give the author the biggest cheer because there aren't enough New Adult / Romance books out there that have a singular male POV. It gave a fresh outlook on the story and I loved the little humor and curiosity it added. The inner monologue we got from Sean was amazing and I have no regrets laughing out loud at 2 AM in the morning because I wanted to know how the story ended.

Take Me To Church
I want to start this by giving two shoutouts.
The first one is to this message:

“Well, I do feel like I should mention that I think virginity in general is an arbitrary construct designed by men as a system of control and fear. And it’s heteronormative. And limiting, because why do certain sexual acts preserve virginity and some destroy it? What if I fucked a dildo every night, but I hadn’t fucked a man? Why doesn’t anal sex count? And what if I was with someone and penetration wasn’t an option, for any number of biological or emotional or identity reasons—would that make our sex less somehow? I’d be a virgin forever?��

The second is to the fact that this was a interracial love trope. Now that we don't have racial and heterosexual normality in Young Adult (more times than not), I really want to see it developing in this genre!

But while this book was clearly kinda awesome, I did have certain problems with it. The shortcomings felt like it was a 'it's me not you' thing and I really hope a lot more people read this because it deserves it!