Daria
Wow, what a way to start a series. It seems I have underestimated this novella. The premise was fascinating, but I didn't think it would have worked so well for a novella. S. Massery is a genius for this. the mystery did feel rushed in my opinion from lack of full knowledge from the main character's brother's ex hockey partner/friend(?) from highschool.The cliffhanger kills me from how unfinished the couple’s romance is, and it felt so plot-focused. I hoped that the next book would fulfill it and that my couple would reunite.
the spice is great for those that care about that sort of thing. although it is focused on a particular kink exclusively.
Beware to anyone that's not into extreme horror or gore or the exploration of a very extreme kink.
An extreme horror good time. This was quite interesting for how short it was. The exploration of the snuff kink was fascinating and something to learn about. I wished this was longer into delving into the psychology of why/how would one have this kink in the first place. Overall, solid.
P.s. plus this there's a hot trans guy Dom if that helps to peek interest at all.
Wow, what a book. This a such a heartbreaking, raw honest tale.
At first that I thought I would have fun time because of the movie but I was surely mistaken. This was quite a sad, lonesome book.
This book is definitely a character study on a insecure, isolated man. It was not a fan of the writing style from how cold, distant it felt. It also felt like it was told from the present day ( I assuming the present day of the story is the 2000s) in a odd way that made it off putting. The bdsm dynamic was unhealthy, and at time could be seen as abusive from Ray to Colin. Despite the point of their dynamic from them not communicating verbally at all, its was clear that they have mixmash needs as a Dom & sub.
It was fascinating to see this location of box hill as a character within the story. I really love the historical aspects of it and it did add character to the story very will. I did wish was it was a little longer but this was a such a solid read.
(3.5 stars)
Trans femme erotica with romance with a new cowboy in town. Basically the whole idea. I noticed this novella had a lot of grammatical errors that I couldn't ignore and wished that this book could have gotten another round of edits before it was published.
The romance aspect was something I wished was expanded upon and tbh, developed better so that it would be so two dimensional. The characterization is a very two dimensional which bothered me so much that it kind of took away from the fact that I really wanted to like this book more. The erotica parts have done their job ok-ish but it could have been better. A lot better. The writing style did seem a bit amatuerish and didn't seem like words flow together well.
Overall, this was an ok read.
TW: transphobia, brief domestic abuse, misogyny
This was such a a letdown. This was oh so promising and yet it failed. Most of the characters were pretty awful and the redeeming quality is the art was very colorful and very unique. The blanant lesbiphobia is fucking weird and uncomfortable. Idk what was the reason for the weird queerphobia to validate this girlhood and womanhood but it was not it.
2.5 stars
TW: bullying (verbal and physical)
this is was quite an interesting short story. totally not sure what to think of it from the short length. this implied that there a possible trans character from the bullied protagonist and their sense euphoria when they wear femme clothes but I'm not entirely sure. the only friend that they did have was not great to them, just letting them get bullied, doing nothing and then later bullies your own friend.
the only redeeming quality of the manga was the sketchy art style. it fit the sense of unfinished that the story had. Would not recommend for anyone to read this at all.
Solid but meh
3.5 stars
TW: Surgerical gore, body horror, gore, minor transphobia
This was such a interesting take on trans horror. Although the end had lost me from how there was loads of monsters and a competition but this was so compelling. I wished that this was so much longer so character could be explored more. It just felt too short but at the same time dragged a lot since the it focus a lot on the character's self loathing.
4.5 stars
TW: Objectification (Minor action of a teenage girl from love interest friend of classmate)
Such a cute story about unrequited love. I love how to the story shown how both boys and girls handle it very differently.love the art style also. I do wished that It would have been longer and had more fleshed out parts as far as the friends.
3.5 stars
TW: Sexual harassment, stalking, cheating, sexual assault, slut shaming, fatphobia, eating disorders (mention of bulimia), child abuse
Wow, this was such over the top silly fun. The characters are all unlikeable and very terrible. Even down to the character's backstory. I did find it strange that the Blair's friends are only acknowledging that she has a problem with her eating disorder. The same about the lashing out to her mother about her behavior at homecoming from being drunk and doing suggestive behavior at the party. The unexpected surprise was chuck bass. No matter how fucked in the head he is sometimes, I can say one thing. The guy is fucking funny. Bass was the highlight of the story to keep things light from the overdramatization of Blair and Serena's friendship. I find Serena getting things to go her way a little too easy.
✨3.5 stars ✨
TW: transphobia, homophobia, unconscious/purposeful misgendering, mentions of abuse (neglect, verbal, and emotional), Panic attacks, attempted sexual assault (not between MCs), mention of nonconsensual nude photos, drugging (not MCs), use of alcohol/drugs, explicit language, and explicit sexual content.
This was a such a refreshing and heart warning read. Although this wasn't my favorite read, this was such a a important read. I like that it gave a very in touch look on what it's like to be a trans person from a bird's eye view. Oliver was also super sweet guy. I also like that it's showing what's like to be trans more specifically in a small town/small city setting which typically not the norm I notice when queer stories are told.
I did notice some things that I have problems with. I wish there was more of back story on Sally's parents. The way it was presented seem like we were going to get a lot more from them. I understand that it was mostly like going to be from the mother but the father only writing just one letter to his daughter just seem like a cope out. He should have just written nothing.
Another thing that confused was the fact that Sally didn't have any trans friends, not even one that's online. It seems so discombobulated that the fact she didn't even make the effort to at least make a an online friend that understood her troubles. I understand that not everyone is accustom to being online all of the time but it just felt unrealistic that she was just only rely on her family for a form of friendship even if most of her family is queer.
The third act break up also frustrated me. It didn't feel necessary since Oliver seems so understanding he fact that Sally is trans. It didn't need for her to just break up with him only because she felt like she was lying to him. He even stated he didn't feel that way. The whole thing just felt like it could have been resolved within a single conversation. Despite all of this, finding my name was an amazing debut book and definitely something that all people should read.
3.5 stars ✨
Tw: depiction and/or of (abortion, pap smear, sex, masturbation, and animal death) neglectful parents, and alcoholism
This was a very honest, and almost reflective take on teenage girlhood. The way it explored insecurities of love, the question of ‘unconditional love actually existing between people', finding what is a love for that person, sexual exploration, and self worth.
I enjoy the subtle ties between the difference of both conditional and unconditional love to how people love people vs animals loving people. The heroine was a unlikeable in the sense that she seem to fix herself for this guy that didn't really appear to like her that much only to go back to his ex. The random excepts of her short stories in between didn't work for me. It just confused me, pulled me out of the story at time in comparison to the ones about the sculptures in Italy that connected to the time she went to Italy with her mother.
The conflict with the main character and the love interest's ex was underdeveloped. It didn't feel like there was a much of conflict and if there was it looked resolved already. Only difference was the connection between the two girls and boy. Overall a solid read.
Bloody good time (LITERALLY)
Tw: Sexual violence, graphic violence, threats of sexual violence, dub con, CNC dialogue, stalking, knife play, blood play, depictions and mentions of graphic murder.
This was an unexpected surprise. I didn't know what to expect from but this was a really fun surprise. I wished this was so much longer. Great read
3.5 stars
TW: Dubcon depiction on consent
I was pretty unsure with this one. The premise seems like pretty interesting idea, the cover was intriguing yet a little concerning. I was not disappointed. The sweet romance between the girls blooms was so tender. I would have done away with the dubcon aspect that happened in the beginning. It was odd that the teacher had asked the main character to bring the love interest to school in order to get a high rank for any university that she wants to get into. Overall this was worth the read.
TW: Internalized homophobia, homophobia, miscommunication
Totally unexpected read. This was such a tender read and refreshing that it showing a healthy depiction of MLM relationships that's not typical dubcon/noncon fashion that happens within BL. The handling of the homophobia, especially from how the main character had internalized his feeling for his friend was done is excellent, careful way. Definitely a must read for anyone that wants a healthy exploration of MLM relationships that doesn't shy away from the dealing of homophobia.
Galaxy,Tyler Kirkham,+1 more
TW: mentions of child (neglect, abuse that's verbal & physical), depiction of a car accident (both in flashback mentioning & incident actually happening), gun violence
This was such a surprise for me. I really thought that I was going to not like this book but somehow the later half just came clutch to save the day. I will say that book dragged on for way too long. It was a bit boring at times even after the flashbacks came in. I won't spoiler anything but that ending. The ending. There was romance minor plot element that didn't need to be there but this was a pretty solid book.
TW: Historical depictions of racism, colorism, transphobia, queer phobia, and sexism within the 1920, and references to soldiers' experiences (both during and after WW1)
This is was such a let down. I really wanted to love this but the writing for this book was little flowery and melodramatic for me considering this is the only classic I somewhat enjoy originally. I also didn't really care for debutant storyline and the ending just felt rushed imo. I did think that my biggest problem that this story would have been better if this was an adult book instead of YA, just the overall shift into making everyone teens just made the story disjointed.
TW: Antisemitism, death (from childbirth, of a child, of a parent), drowning, depiction of blood & gore, gun violence, WW2 & the holocaust, Mentioning of rape
This was such a important read. Im so glad that I found this book when i did. when i started reading this book, i didn't really know what to expect. I remember seeing this book a long time time ago and wanting to read but never understanding the reason why. The cover was haunting in a way that it make me curious as to why this particular scene is being played out as the cover. I can honestly say that please do not go into this blind. I did and I honestly didn't know what was going on the whole time until I had read the acknowledgments halfway into the book to understand the book more.
I did enjoy learning a lot about this particular history that I knew nothing about. The only thing that I had confusion on was Florian and if he was German or not. it seemed clear at first that he was but then later in the story, he says that he's not. This confused me in the connection to how his story connects to the others especially the beginning.
this book is a heavy one and if you're not up for a bittersweet fictional historical remembrance of the sinking of Wilhelmina Gustloff, come back to this one.
TW: Transphobia (comments, legislation,etc), loss of a parent, discussion of racism, alcoholism, divorced parents, minor fatphobia
This was such a fun, and light hearted read that still handle the darker subjects with care despite the overall lightness of the book. I normally don't really read a Christmas romances a whole lot but this was just mere perfection. I also enjoy the Nick's daughter and how funny she was. There were some scenes that felt a little too long for me but overall this was fantastic.
2.5 stars
TW: Parental abandonment, neglect, incestuous vibes
This was quite interesting read. Was not expecting a mystery especially from the cover but unfortunately the story is just meh for me. I'm curious about what happened to the main character's brother. The odd thing about how she talk about her brother was very incestuous and the fact the guy that she works who somehow very similar to her is questionable. I'll probably not continue this manga series but this was a interesting concept.
