Eryn
If you're looking for a gothic paranormal mystery with a Bridgerton/regency era backdrop, look no further than Belladonna! It explores death, family and the power of vengeance mixed with love especially in their society.
“Glad that if she was to be a monster, at least she could deliver mercy.”
“Because Death is only a reprieve for the dead, Mr. Thorly. It cares little for those it leaves behind.”
4.5 Stars
Every year I read an Emma Lord book, it ends up as a favorite of the year and The Getaway List is no exception! Dare I say, it might even rival Tweet Cute as my favorite Emma Lord novel. I'm not going to lie when I read the synopsis and read the first chapter, I feared for my enjoyment of this book (I thought it would end up being a three stars overall) but if this reading experience taught me anything, it's not to doubt Ms. Emma Lord because this blew my expectations out of the water. Luckily I was hooked from the 2nd chapter when she arrived in New York!
One of the things Emma Lord does well is characters and their dynamics. She makes the most loveable friend groups! Mariella (an up and coming app developer), Luca (an aspiring writer), Jesse (the head of a rock band), and Riley and Tom were all great individuals with their own problems they're trying to figure out and distinct personalities and the way they support each other in whatever they are dealing with...ahhh...they just mesh so well together! They felt very much like real people and a friend group I would love to be a part of as they tackle the hijinks of The Getaway List!
I love a good childhood friends to lovers romance and it was done so well here with Riley and Tom. They were so cute together with Lord's signature banter! I felt their chemistry so hard because we got to know each of them individually and how they became best friends and grew up together. It made them getting together satisfying! Of course they had their cheesy moments but what romance doesn't! Together they helped each other become better versions of themselves!
Not to mention the New York backdrop!!! I mean most of Emma Lord's books are set in NY but this book felt like an homage to the city so I never felt the magic of the Big Apple as much as I did when I read this book. She really brought it to life and it felt magical! I've always wanted to go to New York so watching Riley find her home and settle in New York while she figures out her life was awesome and made me want to go even more!
Parental relationship exploration (which is also present in Lord's other novels) is present and done well. Both Riley and Tom had issues with their moms and it was great seeing them work through their issues. Riley sort of resents her mom for never giving her a space to explore what she likes, what she wants and who she is which is why Riley runs off to New York to stay with Tom to figure that out. Tom's mom on the other hand was barely emotionally present in Tom's life because she was always so busy working on her newest film manuscript to even give him the light of day. Riley and Tom helped each other through each of the wounds their mom's caused and reading about their healing was beautiful. I appreciate how the healing wasn't necessarily wrapped up in a pretty bow for Tom by the end of the book because a wound like that takes time to heal.
I feel like a lot of people, especially those who have felt lost once or twice (or a thousand times) in their life, could benefit from reading Riley's journey! She learns to find herself and what she wants to do for her future all while finding a perfect home for herself. This could be relatable and cathartic for a lot of people going through big changes as I know it was for me!
Emma Lord strikes again with a novel that's relatable and all around feels like a warm embrace. If it's not obvious already, I highly recommend this book! I can't wait to pick up a physical copy so I can annotate it and place it on my shelf with my other Emma Lord novels and I hope you'll join me on January 23rd, 2024!
Before getting into the review I would like to point out some content warnings in case you go in thinking it's just about the romance (it's so much more!)
⚠️Content Warning⚠️
- On page physical abuse of side character
- Gaslighting from side characters
- Emotionally abusive parents and ex
- Toxic Parental Dynamics
- depression and family issues
MY THOUGHTS
I've had this book sitting on my shelf for the past year but I finally picked it up because I wanted to read the second book in this series Yours Truly. I'm both glad and sad I waited so long! I think this book is in my top 5 of the year. Might even be top 3. I sped through it! The chemistry and banter between the main characters was
I picked this book up because I have watched Abbie's YouTube channel for years and when I saw that she was writing a book I immediately added it to my Goodreads Shelf. But I didn't really end up reading it until a few years later (now) and I got to say there will not be a lot of sunlight in this review. I was hoping to really enjoy it but I was a bit disappointed. * Things to note going into this book and into this review. Abbie is a physically able bodied (as far as I know) author writing about physically disabled characters and I think it becomes somewhat apparent as you read the book. With that being said, here is the synopsis and my thoughts on 100 Days of Sunlight.
SYNOPSIS
Tessa Dickenson was in a car accident that left her temporarily blind. The doctors are unsure of when her sight might return but they say it's for roughly 100 days. Meanwhile, Tessa needs to learn to navigate the world without her sight in a way she's never done before. Enter Weston. Reckless and loves to defy authority but also an amputee. After having both his legs removed, he feels like everyone treats him and looks at him differently than before the amputation and he hates it. He just wants to be treated normally. That's why, when he sees an ad in the paper about a recently blinded girl who needs help writing her poetry, he jumps on the opportunity to help. He helps Tessa learn how to go back to some semblance of normalcy while enjoying being treated normally for the first time in ages and along the way, they start to fall for each other but when Tessa's sight returns and she discovers the secret Weston has been keeping, he's afraid that might be the end of their budding relationship.
MY THOUGHTS:
First off...WHAT I LIKED
The way this book is split up into the 5 senses with sight being the last one was cleverly done. I liked how it was a way of seeing Tessa try and navigate the world through each sense until eventually her sight returns.
Something I did like about Weston was the relationships he had with his brothers and the friendship he had with Rudy(though we mostly get his character through flashbacks).
That's about it for all I liked so here's WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
The Characters.
My main gripe is with Tessa. Her narrative felt repetitive. She would constantly complain about how no one would understand her situation, then lash out at anyone trying to help her and then sulk about it all. I'm not trying to discount her experience and the trauma that she went through because of the accident but up until 1 ⁄ 3 of the book her narrative had been the same. Instead of trying to help herself and figuring out navigating the world on her own time and trying to cope with potentially permanently being blind, she had Weston do most of the work. I would have loved to see her try to live her life as if she were going to be blind permanently and take matters into her own hands (like learning to type by herself cause with the tech we have today, it's more than possible) rather than sulk until Weston showed up. Regarding her character development it felt like she barely changed from the beginning of the book.
Weston. He completely disregards authority (like doctors) even after his amputation. He oversteps the boundaries of others and kisses Tessa without knowing her consent. When Tessa said she didn't want him to come back, he was like, “Nope. I'm coming back whether you like it or not.”
The Romance...
Together they had their cute moments but I couldn't really feel the chemistry all that much as a couple. It felt disjointed. One moment Tessa despises Weston and the next, it's like a light switch and she's gushing about Weston and then Weston suddenly gets all crazy for Tessa.
The Disability Rep
I am not nor have I ever been physically disabled in any way so I can't really speak on the representation but even I felt like it was off. There was not much focus on the disabilities themselves. It felt more like a crutch to the romance which as I said before was...meh. Tessa could have learned how to type on her own. She could have learned so many things on her own that she didn't really need Weston for and as I said before it would have been nice to see her explore that and other ways she could have lived.
HERE ARE SOME OTHER REVIEWS TO CHECK OUT
- https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3623767171
- https://paperprocrastinators.wordpress.com/2019/07/21/rant-review-100-days-of-sunlight/
- https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4062904091
This Story Itself.
100 Days of Sunlight is supposed to be about Tessa and her going through and trying to cope with her blindness. I mean she's our main character but the majority of the story is told from Weston's POV whether that is in present time or through flashbacks to how Weston lost his legs and how he learned to live life without them. It was basically Weston's story and I think we could have done without his POV and developed Tessa's more or advertise it as his story..
The Ending
It felt abrupt. This book ends right when Tessa finds out about Weston being an amputee and I wished we got a little more after that.
Overall...would I recommend this book? Not really unless what you've read here and from other reviewers still make you want to read it. There are better books out there. Would I reread this book? No. But that's just me.
If you've read this book, what did you think of it? If you haven't, have you heard of this book before and would you still consider picking this book up after reading this and other reviews?
I decided to pick this book up when I heard Larissa from Larry Reads read and loved this book so I thought why not give it a try. I mean I already read another series authors, The Inheritance Games. So I checked it out from my local library and when I say I could not put it down y'all! It was soo good. I love books set in a school setting where they teach fantastical out of the ordinary things like magic or in this case how to solve cold cases and think like a killer. I will say I did find it to be a bit predictable (this is coming from someone who normally can't guess jack squat about a mystery plot) and I was wondering how our main character didn't notice something was amiss at the end especially as a Natural profiler and as a human with common sense but regardless I really enjoyed this. Another thing, is I felt like we could have gotten more background info about the Natural squad like Sloane and Lia cause we don't know too much about them. I think that's because she put more of her focus developing Micheal and Dean b/c they are the love interests and yes this is love triangle with your melodramatic teen drama. It just wouldn't be an early 2010's YA book without them
Thank you to Wednesday Books for the eARC and the chance to read and review this awesome book!
CHECK OUT MY INSTAGRAM REVIEW AS WELL!
I loved this book and flew through the last 70 percent over the weekend. I highlighted so many things. I'm definitely buying a physical copy when it comes out!
Where to start? Oh yeah...I loved this book! I gave Rubi Ramos's Recipe for Success 4.75 stars.
I loved reading about Rubi's story as a first generation Afro-Cuban American born to Cuban immigrant parents. She feels this pressure to strive for her parents expectations because of everything they have done and sacrificed to get her to where she is. They want what's best for her and in doing so places a Ban on one of things she's most passionate about. Rubi lives breathes and eats baking and I love how the writing reflects that with it's baking metaphors describing how she feels in the moment or how she views things through the baking lens. You could really see Rubi's passion for baking! It practically lept from the page! And the recipes themselves sound delicious. I loved the relationship she had with her dad, the relationship she was forming with her mom getting better and how the Ban on Baking affected and shaped them! Rubi was a very well developed character in my eyes. The only thing I didn't like was the romance. Ryan was meh and boring and the way they got together felt weird, somewhat rushed and disjointed but I'm not too put off by it because the romance is not a big part or remotely the point of the book. We could have also gotten a little more background from other characters like her friends Devon or Torie.
Overall I really enjoyed this and am likely to purchase a copy when Rubi Ramos came out on May 16th and I highly recommend it!
I like how first and foremost this book features neurodiversity rep and how it feels like trying to make it in a world that is not necessarily made with you in mind and I loved it so much because I could relate. I mean...some of the conversations I read (especially with Tilly's Mom) felt like getting drunk on a bottle of deja vu. And Oliver's struggle with social interaction and change and everything. I just felt these characters deep in my soul! The neurodiversity rep, I felt, was great!
I also like that this book touches on the effects of comparison from parents on self esteem and relationships, especially when ADHD is involved. Because of her ADHD, Tilly's mom infantilized her. So much so that Tilly felt reduced to her ADHD in her mom's eyes and because of that she feels like a failure with every little mistake, especially in comparison to her sister who has an advanced degree and a business of her own. Tilly feels like she lives in the shadow of her older sister Mona and that she has to live up to her expectations and the expectations of others. There was this conversation Tilly had with her mom when she finally told her she wanted to be a writer. She immediately shut her down, telling her that that is not the real world and that she should pursue college just because that's the path her sister took and that's the path you're “supposed to take.” This conversation (with some minor differences) hit close to home.
On the opposite end, Oliver has more accepting parents of his autism which was refreshing He had an environment where he felt it was safe to be himself without the mask.
There are parts where it's a tad unrealistic like Tilly getting accepted into a writing job in Paris and the ending felt a bit rushed with how quickly her mom changed her views on things within the last 5 percent of the book and how she got two job offers but those things didn't largely impact my enjoyment of this book.
Overall, I really recommend this book for its own voices, ADHD and autism rep alone.
3.5
I highly enjoyed this book but I felt like parts of it may have been too long. That could also be due to the fact that it has taken me two weeks to finish it. I got bored at some parts. Overall I really enjoyed it.
Today, Tonight, Tomorrow and You'll Miss Me When I'm Gone remain my two favourite books I've read from Rachel Lynn Solomon.
4.5
Looky here! My first review in forever! YAY. Anyways...
I first saw this book on BookTube when it had a surge of popularity and thought “hey, this looks like it could be good,” and turns out it was and it has become one of my top books of the year, not that there's a lot of competition cause most of the books I've read were meh but it was still good in my opinion. It was a refreshing breath of fresh air to read.
Better Than the Movies is about main character, Liz Buxbaum, who tries to live her life as a rom-com ever since she lost her mom when she was really young. It was the way that they bonded and the way Liz is determined to live her life, especially now that her childhood crush, Micheal Young has come back to town. As quickly as she can, she decides that now is her chance to try and get with him and so she enlists the help of her neighbor, Wes Bennett, to help her get him. Only problem is that Wes is her sworn enemy. Still, they work together so Liz can get the man of her dreams but along the way, she's grown to like Wes, which throws a monkey wrench in her plan and her perception of the perfect rom-com Happily Ever After is challenged.
First things first— things I like: The banter! It's my favourite part of any rom-com, YA or not, to read and I loved it in this book. There were some parts that had me smiling to myself.
I also liked the plot and writing. Although it's simple and somewhat predictable (which, let's be honest, is what I look for in a rom-com. Love the familiarity with a touch of fun), I flew through it which I haven't done with a book in weeks. Loved their romance!
Next is the fact that it contained an actual playlist at the end! I love discovering new music, especially a curated soundtrack to immerse yourself in the book. I immediately added it to my Spotify.
Now for something that I didn't like, which is Liz. Some of the time she could be annoying. Some of the conflict that happened, especially with Jocelyn, her BFF, could have been avoided if she just talked to her. I semi-understand where she was coming from cause in the beginning of the book Joss felt a little judgy of her crush on Micheal but still. She's your BFF. You should be able to tell your best friend anything. And the end of the book conflict was a little out of hand. I'm going to further explain in the paragraph below WITH SPOILERS.
So basically at this point in the book the main character have already kissed and it's clear to the reader and even Liz herself that she liked Wes and wanted to go to prom with him. So what does she do? She says yes to Michaels Promposal the day after they kissed. LIKE WHAT?! I get that it was a public Promposal but she still should have let him down gently or told him that she really wanted to go with Wes after in private. But it doesn't stop there...oh no. When Wes and Liz had their post-Promposal interaction a few hours later, SHE started insulting HIM when he's been nothing but nice to her. It was very irksome
SPOILERS OVER
Another thing I want to mention is not something I didn't like per say but something that I noticed. One of the main tropes in this book besides fake dating is supposed to be enemies to lovers. Notice how I said “supposed to be.” That's because it never really felt like enemies to lovers. It felt like two friends teasing each other and Liz harboring a dislike for Wes because of it but it didn't really impact my enjoyment of the book.
Overall, I really liked this book and would definitely recommend it to anyone in the mood for a great time cloaked as a YA Rom-Com.
Where to start? Where to start? This book didn't really do anything for me. It was your average historical fantasy with some paranormal fantasy. The premise sounded interesting but the execution was lackluster: the writing was simple, I didn't like the pacing of the plot and don't get me started on the characters. Long story short, I didn't like most of them. 100 pages in and I felt attached to no one. Sure, I can empathize with the situations these girls have been in to have made them end up in Haxahaven School for Witches or Frances grief but in the end I felt no connection. If I had to choose a favourite out of them though, I would choose either Maxine or Lena.
Another thing is that this book is supposed to be set in 1911 New York City and it gave off the dark vibes that come with the times but I never really felt emerged in it's atmosphere. It was written in a too modern writing style/dialogue for me to get into 1911. You could have taken the some of the scenes from the book, placed them in modern day New York and never really be able to tell the difference but that's just me. You can attribute the dark vibes to the fact that it's fantasy. Though I did enjoy the references to some historical events. I was in US History last year and in this book they mentioned a horrific event called the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire (which in their time happened a few months ago) and I was not expecting to see an event we learned about in a book. I don't know why.
Overall, it was a meh book.
4.5 Stars
Before I start this review, I would like to thank St. Martins Press and Net Galley for an ARC of one my most anticipated reads of 2022 in exchange for an honest review!
This book is described as a gender-bent Mamma Mia and I would have to agree! When You Get the Chance is about main character Millie Price and she is Broadway bound...ok...not yet but it's a big dream of hers and she will stop at nothing to achieve it. Which is why she applied to a pre-college for musical theatre behind her dad's back and she was accepted! All she needs to be honed into the next Patti LuPone is parental permission. It's her dream so that should be easy enough, right?! WRONG. Her dad said no! But Millie still wants this and she is not giving up so she decides to go out and find her mother who left her as a child! She's narrowed down her choices to three women: “There's Steph, a still-aspiring stage actress and receptionist at a talent agency. There's Farrah, ethereal dance teacher who clearly doesn't have the two left feet Millie has. And Beth, the chipper and sweet stage enthusiast with an equally exuberant fifteen-year-old daughter (A possible sister?! This is getting out of hand).” Along the way, she gets closer to her drama club rival Oliver Yang who has aspirations of his own. As the search for her mother starts coming to an end and her dream closer to a reality, she starts to realise that maybe what she thought she wanted then may not fit what she wants now.
When You Get the Chance is an ode to Broadway/musical lovers like me! There are plenty of references to musicals such as Dear Evan Hansen, Jersey Boys, Mamma Mia, Newsies, Hamilton, etc!
Let's start off with characters since this is probably my favourite part of this book. The side characters stole the show in this book. Chloe would have to be my favourite character out of all of them because I loved her personality and I could relate to her. She loves Broadway and anything musical theatre and while I'm not as hardcore on the Broadway stuff like she is but I still love it and loved seeing her passion for it. The only time you could get Chloe to come out of her shell of asocial introversion is when you brought up something she was passionate about. Then she got all animated!
My other favourite characters would have to be Teddy, the geocaching dorky BFF and Aunt Heather, the supportive, cool, gay aunt! The support system they have given Millie when she needed it most was chef's kiss
Now to the star of the show, our very own Millie Price. I like how confident and outgoing she was. I feel like I don't read a lot of openly confident characters which made Millie stand out, especially in contrast to Oliver Yang, a slightly less people person but Millie sort of draws him out of that shell. Something that I liked in Tweet Cute was the writing and the banter between characters and while that didn't translate in her previous book, You Have A Match, it shone in When You Get the Chance. There were times where the writing and characters made me smile and chuckle and I love it. Emma Lord's writing style always reflects the POV character's personality which I love. It gives the book dimension. I also liked how she formed relationships with the three potential mothers.
If you are a theatre kid...pick this book up! The references will make your heart explode. If that and gender bent Mamma Mia! With enemies to lovers don't get you to pick it up, I don't know what will/ What I do know is that I recommend this 100%
P.S. No Emma Lord book review is complete without me also recommending Tweet Cute so pick that book up too!!