May

I don't know why I took so long to finally get around to reading this one, but I'm absolutely regretting it. Because Delilah Green Doesn't Care is absolutely fantastic. By far one of the strongest supporting casts I've ever seen in a romance novel, and a main romance that starts off absolutely incredible.

Unfortunately, the last few chapters were a little disappointing to me. The shift from a casual relationship to a serious one felt a little bit rushed, even if the build-up to that shift had been very well established. Part of this is that there are sort of two separate third-act conflicts, without enough time to properly explore either afterward. I'm sure that the sequels will help quite a bit, but the ending fell a little flat for me. Which is a shame, because I loved absolutely everything else.

Still recommended, and I'm definitely going to check out the sequels, because everything I loved here I absolutely loved, even if I was a bit disappointed by the ending.

Haley Cass is a master at writing absolutely incredible slow burn, and Those Who Wait is one of her best. Sutton and Charlotte have some absolutely incredible chemistry, I could read about these two doing anything mundane together and still enjoy it. They're both immediately likeable, messy and relatable in the best possible way. Cass masterfully swaps perspectives between both characters to keep each scene as gripping as possible, and the numerous obstacles and misunderstandings that plague their relationship manage to stay engaging without feeling frustrating.

In comparison to Cass' later works, Those Who Wait isn't as tightly written; it's her longest, and there are points, particularly in the latter half, where it shows. But the core relationship behind this story never stops being gripping, and watching Sutton and Charlotte inch closer and closer towards their romance is absolutely incredible.

If I have any complaint, it's that the ending feels a little abrupt. This is fully rectified by the book's sequel, Forever and a Day, but I would've loved to see a glimpse of Sutton and Charlotte's future together here. That doesn't mean that the ending is bad, just that it left me wanting more, which likely would've happened regardless for any story with these two characters in it.

Those Who Wait is a book that I go back to, frequently. It's one of the most captivating slow burns I've ever read, and I've never been able to put it down, even on rereads. Absolutely worth a read, there's so, so much to love here.

This was a really hard book for me to read. And I'm not talking about quality; Becky Albertalli is a fantastic writer, and I absolutely loved the book (more on that later). But it brought up some memories; of being a freshman in college, surrounded by my brand new, very queer friend group. Questioning myself, but hiding the very, very obvious truth beneath layer after layer of imposter syndrome. Feeling like I wasn't queer enough, because I hadn't always known, and I wasn't visibly queer, even though deep down, I knew that I wasn't the kind of person who craved visibility.

So yeah, reading this book pushed me back through a rollercoaster of emotions and memories I'd mostly forgotten about, a chapter of my life I mostly skip over, the good and bad. Imogen is an extremely compelling character, and Albertalli's writing does an excellent job putting you right in her head. Imogen's journey is extremely compelling, managing to feel extremely relatable without feeling generic. I'm not usually a fan of books that can feel a little heavy handed with discourse, but Albertalli carefully navigates a subset of queer discourse so expertly, that I couldn't help but get engaged, no matter how close to home it hit.

Fingersmith is one of the most riveting books I've ever read. It's atmospheric as hell, absolutely seeping with yearning, and has multiple twists that left me absolutely shocked. From beginning to end, I was absolutely enthralled, and on those merits alone, it would be worth reading.

But Fingersmith is more than just an engaging book; Waters' explorations of women's sexuality and agency in a deeply patriarchal society are extremely effective. Some of the plot twists came off feeling slightly forced, but this wasn't enough to significantly impact my experience reading, and the twists that land absolutely land. Absolutely recommended.