cat

second read: p much same thoughts :)first read: This was a super cute, fun, and funny read! I almost never laugh out loud while reading and this made me do just that multiple times. Unlike other books with the enemies-to-lovers trope that I've read and hated (ahem [b:Dating You / Hating You 32620304 Dating You / Hating You Christina Lauren https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1481574813l/32620304.SY75.jpg 53207990], also by Christina Lauren), this was not too over the top or juvenile with the enemies part - Olive and Ethan just had some snarky banter back and forth. The sexy times were chef kiss perfect. I loved Olive's relationship with her family and she felt super relatable to me.Something I couldn't help but notice while reading is how similar Olive is to Hazel from [b:Josh and Hazel's Guide to Not Dating 40189670 Josh and Hazel's Guide to Not Dating Christina Lauren https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1526941489l/40189670.SY75.jpg 60023585]. It really just felt like the authors just copy/pasted the character ideas for Hazel into this book. This was also a TEEENSE too long for me but that's just being nitpicky. I also hate the way Ethan reacted to the “drama” at the end - I get it but ... bleh.

Mr. & Mrs. Smith meets Dexter meets Gone Girl meets Santa Clarita Diet.

I was so excited about this book. Books with non-binary characters are not something that is often published or popularized and it is so important for those identities to be represented. This book had great rep overall and I loved reading from a NB person's perspective. I know this story is close to Mason's heart and I appreciate that a lot.
But the characters fell so flat to me - I feel like I barely knew them. Pretty much the only thing I know about Ben, our MC, is that they are non-binary and like to draw. All I know about Nathan is that he is super positive and on the student council. Ben & Hannah's parents are super shitty, but why? We see such small moments with them and get little to no background - we know they kicked Ben out and made Hannah want to leave but that's about it. Overall, I just wanted more from this and the characters!

The concept of this book was SO interesting to me. The first probably 25% of this had me hooked but then it just seemed to drag on and on and was laboring to read. Whatever happened at the end with Flynn being arrested was so utterly ridiculous and would never play out IRL. I wish I liked this book as much as everyone else seems to but uuuuhhh big flop.

This was such a fun reread! Rating p much based on nostalgia alone.

y'all have known each other for like 3 weeks and you need to chill

This didn't do anything crazy, but I still really enjoyed the read. It kept my attention and I finished it in like 3 hours.
I wouldn't really consider this a thriller, but more of a psychological dark contemporary. If that's a genre. Weingarten changed the writing style as one of the MC's psyche begins to disintegrate, which was a great touch.

3.5 stars. I really enjoyed this read and it addresses so many important topics - adoption, racism, alcoholism, teen pregnancy... I just typically like my contemporaries a little more gritty and intense. Would still def recommend!

this feels like a jake paul prank video with some sexy times randomly thrown in.
no thanks.

... sigh
I thought I would like this so much more than I did. I wish I liked it more because hey, bi rep is cool. The discussion of what it's like to be gay and deeply religious is cool.
The instalove? Not so cool. The way Sebastian treats Tanner with the excuse that things are hard (even tho they are)? Not that cool. The way Tanner expects Seb to give up a huge part of his life and come out of the closet so easily? Not cool! What happens between Tanner and Autumn? Not! Cool!!
On top of that, I found the pacing pretty strange. This story felt simultaneously like it took place over 2 years and 2 weeks.
In summary - good story, poor execution.

2.5 stars. tbh I only read this to fulfill a prompt for book bingo and I got exactly what I expected - a pretty average, middle-of-the-road, quick contemporary. it didn't do anything wrong but also didn't snatch my wig.

First read 7/7/19: I've honestly put off reading this book because of how hyped it was but I'm happy to say it definitely lived up to the hype. This combo'd my love of true crime podcasts, gritty contemporaries, and mystery/thrillers into one beautiful little package. The writing was gorgeous and I loved the podcast transcript format part of the story was told in. I'm already planning a reread, or rather a listen, because I want to listen to it as an audiobook.

Second read 8/31/19: this audiobook is SOOO good. wow.

First read 7/1/19: I was NOT expecting to love this book as much as I did. I was expecting cute, fluffy, light romance, and while that does play a role here, there is so much more to the story. I loved Leon's quirks and backstory with his brother. Tiffy's situation with her ex-boyfriend hit close to home in the best way, and I loved seeing Leon support her through it. Their notes back and forth to each other were so cute and AAAHHHHH. I just loved this so much.

Second read 9/26/19: still one of my faves.

Though the ideas put forth in this essay were not new to me, I still enjoyed my reading experience and think this work is so important and so necessary. This would be a great primer to someone new to feminism and activism, and would also be great for new parents to listen to. Highly recommend!

i want all 1,300 people who shelved this as horror to send me their address so we can fight

i have never been so bored by a book. that's all i have the energy to say because this shit DRAINED ME.

I think I need to reread this when I have more than 2 brain cells.

3.5.

This book said and discussed so many important issues but ultimately the writing style was just a little too disjointed for me.

what 👏🏻 the 👏🏻 fuck 👏🏻 this was an endless drone of “will they end up together? will they not?” B & Jamie are both selfishly annoying and had absolutely nO CHARACTER GROWTH IN THE ENTIRE 12 YEAR TIMELINE OF THIS STORY. they learned nothing from their mistakes. Steiner wants you to feel the angst and have “real” characters but honestly I just wanted to fight everyone.

Honestly I think about this book daily so I'm bumping my rating from a 4 to a 5 and adding it to my favorites shelf.
—
So weird. So good. Honestly just wish it was a bit darker and more intense.

THIS WAS SO GOOD. Many parts made me cry. Many parts made me feel empowered. Many parts hit too close to home. Some parts made me angry - but that's something I liked about the book too. It wasn't black and white. It was complicated and messy, and showed the complexities of people and relationships in the aftermath of sexual violence. The fact that Owen never seems to face any consequences for his actions definitely bothered me. His supposedly über-feminist Mom just continues to love and accept him? I think what Mara tells him at the end is supposed to "punish" him in a way but does it really? As I said, the relationships are complicated, but I wish there was a bit more pushback against him. Still, a great read overall and I would highly recommend.

2.5 stars. I struggled with this. Parts of the plot are really gripping and could have gone in such an interesting direction, but just fell flat. A lot of the dialogue and things happening just didn't seem realistic at all. When the first “twist” is revealed, I pretty much just said, “Well, duh.” Since there was still a large part of the book left I was hoping Kaufman would take it in a different direction and fuck my mind up but he just didn't. Meh.

4.5 stars. The atmosphere of this book was so good - I loved the spooky summer camp vibes. I also loved the twists throughout. I wish some of the characters were a little bit more fleshed out but overall, a great read.

3.5 stars. I really really loved pieces of this and the format of the story, but in the end I just really didn't GAF about the characters or what happened to them. I don't think I had enough time to connect to them, but it's a short story sooo it is what it is. Although the last “twist” made me gasp out loud whilst at the gym.

I loved learning about how the kids of Parkland created a movement after a tragedy but the writing and delivery was just meh. Cullen is so repetitive and provides so much unneeded information.