Amanda
Really interesting true crime and a story I hadn't heard about before. The ending felt a little anticlimactic and rushed - I think it lost something because one of the principals didn't participate in the book, so her perspective was missing. I found myself sympathizing a lot more with the other, probably for that reason.
The first word that I think of to describe this book is “sparkling” - it definitely addresses some serious stuff (family conflict, growing apart from longtime friends), but never gets bleak or depressing to read, which was exactly what I needed right now. Twinkle is a fun character to spend time with, and I really enjoyed the little glimpses into Sahil's head as well via blog posts and texts with his friends. The supporting cast wasn't quite as well-drawn to me; in particular, I would've liked a little more development for Maddie and Hannah, since the friend-triangle is such a big part of this book. The pacing was a little off as well, with a big rush of plot development and resolution in the last third, but that's not unusual for romances/romcoms, in my experience. Those are both pretty minor quibbles, however - overall, this book is delightful and perfect summer reading.
It was fine, I guess? Not quite a satire, not quite anything else, unexpectedly topical while I was reading it, since the story focuses on a sexual harassment claim against a powerful white CEO. All the men in this book are terrible to varying degrees, which I guess is part of the point, and the only characters that get much in the way of development are the two POV characters, Katya and Sabrina - even Isabel is pretty sketchily drawn. The story takes a while to get going and the book ends pretty abruptly and with a lot of plot threads unresolved (setup for a sequel?). I wish there'd been more satirical elements, because god knows startups are more than ripe for parody. Overall, this was pretty enjoyable but I'm not sure how long it'll stick with me.
(4.5, rounding up.) This was absolutely delightful and a perfect escape from ... gestures at everything. The supporting characters were fun, particularly the house staff trying to get Emma and Ash to fall in love - my half-star deduction here is for Emma's friends, who I couldn't tell apart and are pretty clear sequel-bait. Other than that, though, this was just what I needed in a romance right now and it reminds me why Tessa Dare is one of my favorite historical authors.
Miranda is probably my favorite heroine of this series - she was just fun, and refreshingly non-angsty for the most part. I really enjoyed this one. All the criminal underworld stuff isn't really my thing, but I liked how it was handled and how it didn't (for the most part) overshadow the rest of the story. I also really liked the slow reconciliation between Smite and other family members. I don't know whether this or Unveiled is my favorite of the series, but they're both excellent and worth a read.
Fun subversion of a lot of YA tropes! The last 100 pages or so turned into a bit more of a generic YA dystopian-ish thriller, but the premise was really clever and I definitely enjoyed this one. I would've loved a little bit more Natalie, especially after it's revealed that she's also a Love Interest, but this was still a fun take on flipping a far-too-prevalent cliche.
(3.5 stars, rounding up.) Didn't like this as much as I expected to, though I did still enjoy it. If “male virgin seduced by courtesan-in-disguise” is a common romance trope, it's one I haven't encountered before, and I did enjoy it. The plot got a little repetitive in the first half and I had a hard time keeping interest, but the author did a good job conveying the chemistry between the two leads. The book picked up for me in the second half, and I think it's because that's when other characters finally showed up - I'm not a huge fan of “let's have everyone from book one in a series show up in book two” or anything, but both the leads were really isolated in this book (for Plot Reasons, of course). I understand why they were but it did make for somewhat monotonous reading, since they were both in their own heads a lot. By the end, though, I really did enjoy this book, I just wish the trip to get there had been a little better paced.
Had this on my Kindle forever and picked it up somewhat randomly on vacation. Really enjoyed it - I haven't read a lot with these specific tropes (which I would spell out here, but spoilers), and the whole legal battle was also an interesting premise, which added some Victorian (or late Georgian?) realism without getting too dry/technical. I also liked the hero - he had a lot more depth and characterization than romance heroes often do, at least in my experience. I'm definitely going to keep reading this series. It's been too long since I've read any Courtney Milan so I'm glad to have finally started on this new-to-me series!
(4.5 stars, rounding up.) It's still rarer than it should be to read a book that gets fandom culture in the Tumblr age right, but this one does and it really informs the entire book, from the characters down to the story. I haven't been in a boy band fandom, but I've definitely been in fandom and felt like I couldn't explain my “internet friends” or what I was doing online till 2:00 am to my family or “normal” friends. I don't know if you need that background to enjoy this book, but as someone who's been there and is still on Tumblr to this day, it's really nice to see an author get modern fandom.
On to the book - Grace is something of a passive character (and/or in her own head) for a lot of the book, so if that bothers you, this may not be your cup of tea. I really liked how the book explored the end of high school and gradually growing apart from your old friends but still wanting to keep those connections, even though you're not in the same place anymore. Some of the boy-band characters were a little vaguely sketched, but you may get more from them if you're fluent in One Direction (which I'm not, though I could still tell who most of the Fever Dream guys were analogues for). All in all, this is an excellent wish-fulfillment/coming-of-age YA novel and I devoured it in less than a day. After I finished, I flipped through and reread a bit, because yes. This book.
One spoilery thing, though: Grace, girl. Put a passcode or thumbprint lock on your phone, especially if you're at the center of a fandom scandal!
Good and definitely important, but not what I was expecting. This is sort of like a collected series of articles - like a big New York Times series on some societal problem that's been collected into a book. Not bad at all, but I was expecting something more investigative, maybe with interviews, more like the author's amazing story for Texas Monthly that's mentioned in this book. Instead, it's a long survey of the problem and a shorter section of recommendations. There's clearly a ton of research that's been done here, and Luther clearly knows the topic well, but it doesn't seem like a lot of interviews were done with people actually involved in college football. I wish there had been more of that, just to get the perspective on the ground along with the great content in here. I'd still definitely recommend this book - while it wasn't what I thought it would be, it's still crucial information that we all should be aware of.
(Read Harder 2017: #1 Read a book about sports.)
(3.5 stars, rounding up.) Fun and something I wouldn't have read if not for this challenge! I love Lunella and her unshakable confidence in herself - while I'm about 25 years older than the target audience, I think that's something that's really important for young girls to see, especially in a young black girl lead character. The story was fine, but for the start of a series, seemed dependent on a crossover, which wasn't great (especially since Marvel crossovers have been so terrible recently). I did like that there were six issues collected in this volume, which seems to be increasingly rare, but definitely makes the collection a better value. The collection ends on a cliffhanger, which is kind of annoying, but I bought the next volume anyway, so I'm probably going to keep reading, because I want to know what happens to Lunella.
(Read Harder 2017: #6 Read an all-ages comic; #18 Read a superhero comic with a female lead.)
This was adorable and so much fun to read - I won't call it fluff, because it touches on family relationships (especially sisterhood) and growing up and apart and body image and some serious stuff, but it's not at all a Message Book. It's just a good solid contemporary non-dystopian YA book, and it's cute and diverse and not another damn love triangle, and I really recommend it. (And if you like this, may I suggest the works of [a: Amy Spalding 5768552 Amy Spalding https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1489555047p2/5768552.jpg] to you?)
Fun read, but I just think I have a novella problem - I like a nice slow burn and most novellas are just too short to really make that happen in a convincing way. The mystery plot with the missing horse was fun, but again, wrapped up a little too quickly because this was a novella. I may read more from this author, since I believe the rest of the books in this series are novel-length.
This was so cute and such a fun read! I loved the chemistry between Dimple and Rishi, and it really shines through the page. They just seem like fun people to be around, and I really enjoyed reading this book for that reason. Other things I liked: the parental relationships (not the focus of the book at all, but realistic and well-done), Rishi and his brother, a bisexual side character (where that wasn't the focus at all), and how much this book made me want to visit San Francisco. Stuff I didn't like: incredibly one-dimensional villains, and Dimple only losing because they're eeeeeeevil (I think it would've been a more interesting character/plot choice if she'd lost to someone else, and how a lot of the conflict seems crammed into the end of the book - like, I was 80% through before that all took off. Those are pretty minor nitpicks for a book that I really had a great time reading, though, and I definitely recommend this one if you want a summer YA romance!
Fascinating and infuriating. Reads in a way like a novel - the book follows several families and individuals struggling with housing insecurity and everything that goes along with it. There are single people and families, some with other issues like addiction or criminal history, but all their stories are compelling and I was rooting for all of them to succeed and find a stable place to live. (Except for the one super-racist white guy, but he's a fairly minor character.) The book also looks at the structural faults of the housing system - my only real issue is that I think more time could have been spent on the effects of segregation and redlining, because even the poorest white families profiled in this book have an easier time and end up in better neighborhoods. There are also two landlords who are characters, which is interesting - almost no one is a full-on hero or villain here. I learned a ton by reading this, and I'm someone who works with low-income people on a daily basis in my job. Highly recommended.
(Disclaimer: the author is a friend.) This book was such a great read - I loved all the characters and wanted more when it ended! I love when both characters need to grow and change to get to the happily-ever-after, and it's not about one person being entirely right or totally wrong. This had that and it was so satisfying to watch these two great characters work their way toward each other. Love love love.