emery
I received this book as an ARC from the author
I really really enjoyed this book! I thought it started a little slow which had me struggling to get super into it at the very beginning. Thankfully, it quickly caught my attention and I didn't want to put it down! I adored all of the characters and would honestly read books about every one of them on the crew. I thought the action was great and I did not guess any of the plot twist (although I'm not the best at that haha). Overall, there was very little I didn't like in this!
I will say I'm not a fan of miscommunication so I was annoyed at the characters a lot but it didn't take much away from my enjoyment in the end! I definitely would recommend this.
I received this book from NetGalley.
I love a good haunted house story and anything queer so this book was right up my alley. This had twists I didn't see coming that had me genuinely gasping. There were so many moments that had my skin crawling it was so creepy but also heartwarming sweet moments as well. It had a really good balance of vibes. I highly recommend this one!
I received this audiobook from NetGalley and Macmillan Audio.
Healer Anja makes a habit of drinking poison. Not to die, but to practice. Forever searching for cures where others have given up. Her peaceful days of herbs and experiments end abruptly when the King calls upon her. His beloved daughter, Snow, is fading fast, and he hopes Anja's peculiar talents might save her.
Armed with a grumpy guard, an unbearably vain cat, and her own relentless curiosity, Anja tries every remedy she knows. Nothing works, until a gleaming mirror reveals a secret world on the other side. But in this strange, enchanted realm, the cure Anja seeks may prove even more dangerous than the sickness itself.
This Snow White inspired fantasy/horror novel was an absolute delight to read! I'm already a big fan of T. Kingfisher and every new book I pick up makes me a bigger fan! This story was full of whimsy and fun while also having darker elements.
Anja is a very likeable and relatable character who I really enjoyed reading about. Her one track mind when it comes to poisons and finding cures was really interesting. She felt like a complex, real person to me.
Of course, the cat was a star. Anytime there's an animal sidekick type character you know I'm going to love them. He brought some comic relief to an otherwise fairly depressing story about a princess slowly dying and trying to figure out how to save her. He added a good balance.
I listened to the audiobook for this and really liked the narrator as well! She brought the characters to life perfectly. Overall, this was a very fun read and I would definitely recommend if you enjoy fairytale retellings!
Thank you NetGalley and Saga Press for this ARC!
As expected, Andrew Joseph White is incapable of disappointing me with any book he releases. I was nervous going into this book as it heavily focuses on themes I usually avoid (pregnancy) but I refused to miss an AJW book so I pushed through and I'm so glad I did!
This book is gross. Seriously gross. But also beautiful in a lot of ways. There's so much depth to Crane as a character even though he doesn't speak at all throughout this book. It's definitely a hard read with a lot of trigger warnings that I highly encourage readers to check before going into it but it's so so good. I cried multiple times because I just felt so deeply for these characters and what they were going through.
Every scene that included the swarm made my skin crawl. I could picture everything so vividly and it was disgusting which is very fun to read. There is a lot of violence and Crane has some seriously dark thoughts but I always felt so empathetic towards him. AJW is so good at writing complex characters that I personally always get so attached to so quickly.
Overall, this was an incredible book that I would highly recommend if you like gritty and gross horror and want some queer and autistic rep in there too!
i was sent this book by the publisher.
this was a really fun read!! i was immediately hooked into the story and these characters. i was rooting for them to succeed and wanted to know more about everyone. i would've loved to have gotten to know the crew a bit more as certain scenes could've had bigger emotional impact that way. but i was very invested in the main characters! diana was probably my favourite because who doesn't love a talking bird? overall, this fairly fast paced story about pirates and sea creatures and revenge and sapphic relationships hit for me.
Received from NetGalley!
this was super cute! I love the concept of the popular kids having secret sides to their personalities. their interactions already had me kicking my feet and giggling i can't wait to see what happens from here! i'd love to learn more about both of them and their back stories. so far it's very sweet!
i picked this up because i thought the cover was gorgeous but i was not expecting.. THAT. i liked a decent amount of the stories but some of them were problematic to say the least.
the first story especially left a really bad taste in my mouth. using a magical date rape drug basically.. not a fan at all and almost didn't continue. i also didn't love the crow / peacock one as i was waiting for the peacock to find out what his friend was doing and he just never did. i know most people also talk about the teacher / student one but when i read it i interpreted it as more of a found family vibe but that could be on me lol
honestly, this would've just benefited from each story being longer but that tends to be the case with short story collections like this. the art was absolutely stunning though and i really like the concept of human-like animal characters so this was a mix of good and bad for me.
I received this book from NetGalley!
This book is going to stay with me for quite a while I think. The first few days after reading it I really got a bit of anxiety looking at mirrors and I think that says something about the book! I really really enjoyed this! It was dark and twisty and felt a bit like a fever dream the entire time. There were so many moments when I thought I knew what was going to happen and then was completely wrong and shocked. I did not want to put this book down the entire time I was reading it. I cannot wait until this is out in the world so I can pick up a physical copy and recommend it to everyone around me!
I received this book from NetGalley.
This was a very fun read! I loved the concept of mixing the bachelor and bridgerton but throw in vampires and queerness. Truly an incredible combination of things. I really enjoyed watching the competition progress and see our MC learn more about his competition. I would absolutely love a spinoff of Violetta and Isabel, I was so invested in them the whole book.
Overall, it was very fun and had a lot going for it! I don't think it was a perfect book by any means but it scratched the spooky itch this month and some new characters to get invested in!
I received this book from NetGalley and Penguin Teen in exchange for an honest review.
Hearts That Cut is a thrilling sequel to Threads That Bind, which was one of my top reads of 2023! To say that this was my most anticipated read for this year would be an understatement and I'm very happy to say it lived up to my expectations!
This sequel truly was non-stop anxiety for me. Things were constantly happening and it was a really exciting read! The plot took so many turns that caught me off guard and by the last quarter of the book I was gasping and on the edge of my seat the whole time.
The characters only got better in this one! Io is such an interesting character, in my opinion. She feels so real and her reactions / actions never felt completely out of left field. I really liked her time spent with Bianca and watching their relationship develop! The new characters were also great! I would've loved to see more of them. My only complaint is not enough Nico but that's because he was my favourite in the last book.
Overall, this was a really satisfying and fun sequel! I had a great time reading it and I'm thrilled it was as good as the first book for me! Would 100% recommend both of these books.
I received this book from NetGalley and Penguin Teen in exchange for an honest review.
Blood & Fury is a fantastic follow up to Chaos & Flame and conclusion to this duology. This was one of my most highly anticipated releases for the year and I am very happy to say it did not disappoint whatsoever.
I came into this book already deeply attached to the characters and this sequel only intensified those attachments. With the cliffhanger of Chaos & Flame, I was eager to see where our characters ended up and how things were going to evolve from those events in book one. Talon was a character that I liked a lot in the first book but in this one he really become one of my favourites. I loved his relationship with Darling but also how dedicated to everything he put his mind to in this book. Darling took on a whole new level of power and purpose in this and I really enjoyed watching her evolve with that added responsibility. Caspian got on my last nerve but it made sense still. Vivian was a new favourite for me and I really loved seeing more of her.
There were multiple moments in this where I physically felt my heart pounding while reading and could not put it down. The action really sucks you in once things start to really pick up. Overall, I think this was an excellent conclusion and I'm sad to no longer be in this world. Highly recommend.
I received a copy from Penguin and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I received advance reader copies for all three books in this trilogy and this final book did not disappoint in the slightest! I was eagerly awaiting it and had so much fun!
This book really delivered on all fronts. The friendships and the risks they were willing to take for each other were so special. The romances as well were so heart-wrenching. This whole trilogy takes the reader on such a wild and fun ride full of laughter, tears, nerves, and more! This final instalment had all of those things in abundance!
There's usually at least one character I don't particularly care about in a story but I genuinely adored every single character in these. The strength of their friendships was inspiring and made me want to root for each one of them even more. I love seeing all the different dynamics even when they weren't physically with each other. They all had so much hope that things would work out and were so determined.
I'm sad to see this story come to a close but it was a fantastic time while it lasted! I think it ended in a perfect way and left me imagining what each of them would be doing after the pages stopped. I would highly highly recommend this trilogy!
The Twenty-Ninth Year is my first read of 2024!
I'm not using a big poetry fan but this one felt different. It felt like actually being in the authors head and heart which felt really intimate. There was quite a bit in this that felt close to home for me which I think helped me feel connected to the author and this book.
Overall, I think it's a beautiful book and I'm glad I picked it up!
Thank you to the author for sending me a copy of this book to review!
I enjoyed this a decent amount! Jerry was an intriguing character who I would love to learn more about. The same goes for the other characters! I think the combo of ships, lesbians and zombies is really fun and I haven't seen it done before! I am looking forward to reading the next book to see where all of this leads these characters.
I received this book from NetGalley and Penguin in exchange for an honest review!
This was exactly what I was looking for! I loved that it was spooky and mysterious without being over the top. I thought the story was super interesting and I liked that there was folklore in there as well. It really added to the whole atmosphere of the book.
My favourite part of the book was the characters though. I am a very character driven reader and I thoroughly was invested in these characters as whole. I thought Linden was very likeable and I was really invested in all her relationships and what happened to her. I really enjoyed the dynamic between the whole James family as well. Especially with the sisters! I'm not going to lie, the sisters could've been a bit more diverse in personalities but otherwise, I loved them! The parents, aunt and grandma were also great characters I could really feel. Cole was okay. I didn't love him as a love interest but I feel like that was because we didn't really see a TON of him. Linden and Cole's scenes together were a bit dominated by Linden, which is fine because I loved Linden, but it did make me not care as much about Cole.
This book grabbed my attention from the very beginning and never lost my interest throughout. I would definitely recommend it!
Ps. the subtle little queer rep at the end made my heart happy.
I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!
Andrew Joseph White did it again. The Spirit Bares It's Teeth is an incredibly heart wrenching book while somehow also heart warming. It held the balance of being very hard to read due to graphic gorey scenes and then intimate scenes around friendship and identity and love.
I'm not going to lie, my two gore topics I avoid are eyes and pregnancy and this book hit both of them and yet I didn't ever want to stop reading. Andrew's writing is so captivating and poetic it's hard to put down. Even though this took me almost a month to read, it wasn't ever because I got bored or didn't want to be reading it. It was constantly on my mind and I already wish I could keep reading it.
The characters really embedded themselves in my heart. I was so deeply invested in their stories and what would happen to them. Silas felt very special to me as a person both in the trans community and neurodivergent. I related to the struggles he faced and how his mind worked. All the girls were also so well written and I wanted to know more about all of them, just like Silas. I was also so attached to the groundskeeper even if he wasn't in a ton of scenes. The element of spirits and the veil were both scary and intriguing at the same time. I really enjoyed that.
I am still fairly new to the horror genre but this is the first book that I've physically felt my heart pounding and my eyes trying to skip ahead to find out what happens and if the characters are okay. I was in such a state of anxiety but for once, it was enjoyable. It was a really intense reading experience.
This book has made me much more interested in looking into the history of forced institutionalizations of women / minorities. Horror based in history and real life hits so much harder and really opens my eyes to things I didn't put much thought into previously. Even if it isn't a completely accurate representation.
Overall, I would highly recommend this book!! I would especially recommend it to my fellow queer and neurodivergent readers because this just felt so special and I want more people to experience that! Thank you Andrew Joseph White for writing such incredible books and I can't wait for more!
CWs : graphic violence, sexual assault (both implied and on page), medical gore, on page c-section, abortion, transphobia, ableism, medical / psychiatric abuse, gaslighting, physical / emotional / verbal abuse, forced institutionalizations, body horror, dysphoria, torture, confinement, death of parent, murder, adult/minor relationship, self harm
I received this from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I thought this was great little intro to gender kind of book. It had a lot of really great and interesting information but didn't go super in depth due to how short it is. I would love to see a longer version! Overall, I thought it would be a good book for people who don't know much on the topic or want to learn more. Would definitely recommend.
This book was sooo cute! There wasn't much I didn't like about this one. I adored all the characters (especially Terri and Dylan). It was nice that they had realistic flaws but were still incredibly likeable characters I was fully rooting for the entire time. The message of the importance of family and following your heart were really special. I loved the relationship between Dylan and Aunt Jade. It was sweet and heartwarming. I also really enjoyed Theo and Terri's relationship and how much they supported each other.
I've always really liked the fake dating trope and this one did not let me down! The tension and mutual pining was so sweet and cute! It may have been a bit insta lovey but I don't mind that too much. I think when it comes to teenagers, that's not super unrealistic. I loved how much they cared about each other and the way they supported each other throughout this book, even when circumstances were difficult. They had a pretty healthy relationship in my opinion!
As a Kpop fan myself, I always laughed a little bit at how many times Blackpink were mentioned. I would definitely be friends with Megan. All the cultural references and explanations of the food were really great as well! It really made you feel involved in the story and made me want to eat all of it. I've never had a mooncake before, but this made me want one so bad!!
Overall, I thought this was a really heartwarming story that I would highly recommend!
Trigger Warnings: death of parent (mother x2), grief, parental abandonment, drowning (not fatal), alcohol, alcoholism/addiction, rehab, DUI, car accident, blackmail, emotional abuse, flooding, classism, cancer, toxic friendship, dementia
Rep: M/M, Chinese and Singaporean MCs
I received this book from NetGalley and Penguin Teen in exchange for an honest review.
This book is one of the most interesting stories I've read in a while.
Io was a complex and interesting character I really enjoyed reading about. She felt like a real person who had complicated emotions and relationships. All the other characters as well had enough depth and info in the books that I was invested in their stories and wanted to see more of them. I really liked the main pairing especially for “ships” but I'm also interested in some side pairings and am intrigued to see where things go from here.
I've never read anything like this before. The idea of gods, threads, politics, relationships, everything all together just made for an incredibly interesting and exciting plot that kept my attention the entire time. The way the setting was described worked really well for me and I could always vividly see in my mind where they were. The worldbuilding was also great as I felt like we got information spread out throughout the book and I never felt like I was just drowning in info dumping.
It did a good job of really setting the vibe. Like I said before, I could always vividly picture what was going on and there were multiple moments where there were quotes that really hit hard. I liked the POV. I liked being in Io's head and see things from her perspective and what her thought processes were. It might've been cool to get a second POV but I'm not bothered that I didn't. I thought it did a good job of keeping the pacing interesting? I didn't feel like we were going super fast the whole time but also didn't have many moment where I felt like things were slow. It had a good balance.
The conflict always held my attention and I constantly just wanted to know what was going to happen next. It kept me on the edge of my seat throughout the whole thing. The main conflict at the end was also very exciting and I was holding my breath trying to read as fast as I could to see what was going to happen.
Overall, I would definitely recommend this one to anyone who likes stories about gods, mythologic “powers” and political intrigue. This was a super fun read.
I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This book is based on the “Girls Like Girls” music video by Hayley as well. I, surprisingly, had never seen the music video before so I went into this book knowing nothing about the story. I had some mixed feelings, mostly about the characters. I liked Coley but I didn't like Sonya like 85% of the time so I wasn't rooting for them for much of the book. But, at the same time, I think it told a pretty realistic story of a closeted girl really seriously struggling with her identity. That's never going to be a super happy fun story or character to read about so I still liked it regardless.
I went and watched the music video after finishing the book and, not going to lie, it made me cry. I can see why it was such an iconic and important video for queer people, especially women, when it came out. As a lesbian myself, both the video and the book did touch on a lot of things that felt very relatable. The confusion of liking a girl for the first time. The way it is very intense with the first girl. It's very true to how I experienced liking a girl for the first time.
Overall, I thought it was good! It could definitely be a bit cheesy / cringey at times but I don't think it took away from the story at all. If you liked the music video, I would 100% check out the book.
(ps, I loved alex so much)
I've received this book through netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This book is easily one of the best books I've read this year. I've never been super interested in pirate stories before but this one immediately grabbed my attention. The characters are well developed and they make you root for them. The story isn't something I've seen much of around. It pulls the reader in from the very start. The main character is strong and smart and knows what she wants and goes for it. But she's also human and makes mistakes. It makes it so you feel for her and want her to succeed. I would highly recommend this to anyone that enjoys adventure and strong female characters!
this book made my heart so warm. the sense of community and support made me cry! as a young queer person, this hit me hard. reading about someone finding themselves and their identity and breaking out their shell is so beautiful. i loved that the characters had flaws that they worked on throughout the book. none of the drama felt unrealistic or forced, nor did the growth. i related to nima a lot, especially when she would get in her own head and convince herself that she was boring or didn't fit in. everyone needs a community like she has in this. i would highly recommend this book to other young queer people!
I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This graphic novel was about a young girl who finds out she was actually a spy who was being controlled. It was an alright read, but not my favourite. It felt very rushed and was confusing at times. I think a younger reader who is interested in spies and cool female main characters would enjoy this graphic novel more than I did. The art style was interesting though!