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throwaway girls review

hello everyone! today i am going to be talking about throwaway girls by Andrea Contos. i gave this book 3/5 stars. thank you so much Netgalley and Jimmy Patterson Books for an arc of this book! and of course, this review isn’t changed by the publishers or anything. and this is just an honest review.

trigger warning- conversation camps, homophobia, blood, murder, arson, addiction, adult/minor relationship, bullying, kidnapping.

honestly, i feel like this book was so easy to figure out who done it. like, i feel like it was just pretty basic and it was so easy to tell that they did it, ended up did it. like, i mean, i feel like it was just so basic, and with what they said throughout the book was just so sus, so it was so easy to tell.

but, also in the start of the book they said something along the lines of, ‘oh yeah Caroline has seen like 4 dead bodies. and it was like so normalized and i was like huh?? like this girl is 17 years old, i don’t think it is that normal for someone to see that many dead bodies, especially when she’s only 17.

overall, though, i like the writing was good in the start, but then just got bad. like, it started to be pretty interesting and just overall good. but, as time went on and on in this book, i feel like it was just way to much for a YA book. like, Contos is definitely talented, but i feel like it would work better if this was an adult book.

and i feel like there was also just some things said that was like “oh his shirt is nice, and he gets to my bed quickly with his long legs, and the wind comes threw the window quickly, his shirt is very soft and his shirt and pants move against my leg as he sits down next to me.” which was on like every page and started to give me a headache.

and i definitely feel like Contos was trying to make this book sound pretty, even though it is such a dark book and deals with so many darker topics. and Contos was spending a lot of time making this sound cute and more like poetry then just sticking to the mystery murder plot line.

there is also so many characters in this book. like so many. and most of them weren’t even that important to the book, and they were brought up once, and then like fell off the face of the earth. like, there was teachers mentioned and they were brought up then like were never mentioned again.

with that being said, i feel like some of the characters that were mentioned could have had a bigger part and actually help the story. but, Contos literally just stopped writing them which got to be bit much after awhile. like, if you’re gonna take time and flesh out these characters, or at least have any of the main characters in this book mention them, or have this deep conversation, i feel like there should have been more substance with the character.

and i also feel like the start of this book is pretty slow. like, in the start it is just our MC, Caroline trying to act all cool when she really isn’t all that exciting of a character. but, it starts to pick up towards the middle and end, so if you do read this book, just be aware of that. but, needless to say, it was still a decent book.

like i said, i feel like it was super easy to tell who did it, from the start of the story it was easy to tell. and this book leaned really heavy on the whole missing person’s part of it, and then they would just out of no where bring up her sexuality and then conversation camp. which, i know was a big topic in this book, but it was only really brought up when it was convent. which, got to be a bit annoying.

and i know that in this book they did bring up sexuality a lot, but it was either ‘i’m queer’ or ‘my girlfriend is missing and left me.’ so, i just wish there was a little more substance about it and they didn’t like brush it off for some of it. since, there could have been so many good discussions about it, and how her girlfriend was missing is messing with her mental health. and just the talk about how she is living in a pretty homophobic town. but, it was kind of brushed aside at some parts.

but, there was some talk about class in this book. like, i don’t remember to much about this, just what i wrote in my notes on my phone. and from what i remember, it was overall kind of cool and liked that it was brought up, but i just wished they went more into this. and also just not bring it up when it is good for the plot.

and overall for this book i just wished that it was more consistent. with the whole plot and the different things that were brought up. and i just wished that it worked, since this didn’t really work.

and then i feel like there was so much talk like they would just repeat the same words over and over again, and like reword it. so, we got told that her best friend is leaving her again and again, but it was reworded each time. and that goes for like everything.

then, i do feel like there was no motive for the killer and for this person to do all of these crimes. like, with all fictional killers they have some sort of motive. like someone killed their mom or like someone got in a hit and run and someone died. like some sort of driving force for all of this. but, in here, there was literally nothing. like, they just killed to kill, and it got to be so annoying.

with that being said, they had this big revel. and everyone was like freaking out, but then it was literally nothing. and this person pretty much was like, “oh yeah i killed all of these girls lol. what are you gonna do, shoot me lmao.” like that is literally the whole exchange. and it just got to be so annoying.

and yes, i did have an arc, so that might just be part of all of this. like, if you get arcs, mostly e arcs, you know how crazy these arcs are. like, i feel like it could have got changed then in the final version.

with that being said, i do think that there was some formatting issues with this book. and like i’m just blaming this on the formatting, cause i’m giving Contos the benefit of the doubt. but, there was just so much random things not flowing correctly. like, it was just jumping around so much, which just got to be so annoying after awhile.

now for Caroline as a character, her backstory was quite completed. since, i feel like there was so much going on, between her family, her school life, the missing person’s cause, school, her ex girlfriend, her friends, school, and sexuality. so, i feel like it was quite completed. like, there was just so much going on and just to to so complex, and way to complex for this YA novel. like, i definitely feel like that there was so much going on about her background. and i just wish they either made this an adult book or even just not make so much going on.

as for this trope, which just annoys the life out of me. is when this straight guy is trying to get with this queer girl. and like this just pisses me off, especially if the character is lesbian. but, Caroline is bi, but that still made me kind of mad. thankfully it is kind of a minor plot point.

anyway, that is all for today! thank you so much for an arc of this book! but, this book wasn’t the book for me, but hopefully i will like another book by Contos in the future, cause the writing was pretty good and yeah.

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March new releases

hello everyone! today i am going to be talking about the march releases that i’m excited for. honestly there is quite a few, and i only included one arc that i have, since i’m so excited for this book and i can’t wait to read it.

good girl, bad blood by Holly Jackson. this book comes out March 2nd, so today basically. but, Pip is done with playing detective anymore. with her boyfriend, Ravi Singh, she creates a true crime podcast, following all the details about the Sal Singh and Andie Bell case. the podcast has gone viral, and her detective days are behind her. till, Jamie Reynolds has disappeared, and the same night of the sixth anniversary of the death of Sal and Andie the police won’t do anything, so now she needs to uncover all the secrets. honestly, i’m so hyped up for this book, even though i can already pretty much quote the British version front to back, so i’m super excited for this book.

lost in the never woods by Aiden Thomas. this book comes out March 23rd. it’s been five years since Wendy and her two brothers went missing in the woods, but when children in the town start to disappear, the question around her brothers’ mysterious disappear, the questions get brought back to light. attempting to run away from her past, Wendy almost runs over an unconscious boy lying in the middle of the rode and gets pulled into the haunting mystery in the town. Peter, a boy she thought lived only in stories, claims that if they don’t do something, the missing children will meet the same fate as her brothers. in order to find them and rescue the missing kids, Wendy needs to confront what’s waiting for her in the woods.

perfect on paper by Sophie Gonzales. this book comes out March 9th. Darcy Phillips can give you the solution to any of your relationship woes for a fee. however, when Brougham catches her in the act of collecting the letters of locker 89. and in order to keep her secrets safe, Darcy agrees to become his personal dating coach, at a generous hourly rate. but, the goal is to help win his ex girlfriend back. this honestly sounds like the netflix movie, it came out last year i believe. and honestly i’m pretty excited for this book.

girls with rebel souls by Suzanne Young. this book comes out March 23rd. honestly, i have no clue what this book is about, but i also don’t want to know what this book is about since it is the third book in the series.

she’s too pretty to burn by Wendy Heard. this book comes out March 30th. as the summer winds down in San Diego, Veronica is bored, charismatic, and is uninspired in her photography. Nico, who is her best friend and an obsessed with chaotic performance art. but, before Mick they were artist first and best friends second. now, Mick is the perfect subject and Veronica’s dream girl. the days are long and hot, full of adventure and soon they fall in love. falling hard and fast, but they never expected one fire, two murders, three drowning bodies, one suspect, and one stalker. and hopefully they survive.

can’t take that away by Steven Salvatore. this book comes out March 9th. Carey Parker dreams of being a diva and bringing the house down with a song. they can hit every note of every pop song and Broadway hit. but, despite their talent, emotional scars from homophobic incidents make it hard for Carey to find their voice. then, Carey meet Cris, who is a singer/guitarist who makes Carey feel seen for the first time in their life. with the promise of a new romantic relationship, Carey now finds confidence to audition for a role in Elphaba, the wicked witch of the west in the school musical. now, setting off a train of prejudice by Carey’s tormentor and others in the school, it’s up to Cris and Carey and their friends to defend their rights.

when we were infinite by Kelly Loy Gilbert. this book comes out march 9th. all Beth wants in her tight circle of friends if for them to stay together. with her family splintering and her future a big question mark, these friends are all she has. and she also knows that she will never be able to tell Jason how she really feels. then, Beth witnesses an act of violence in Jason’s home, and the whole group is shaken. Beth and her friends make a pact to do whatever it takes to protect jason, no matter the sacrifice. but, their loyalty isn’t enough to stop Jason from making a life changing event, Beth needs to decide how far she is going to go for him.

the castle school for troubled girls by Alyssa B. Sheinmel. this book comes out March 2nd. Moira Dreyfuss’s parents announce they are sending her to an all girls boarding school in the woods of Maine, Moria isn’t fooled. she knows her parents are punishing her, she’s been to much trouble since her best friend died. at castle school, she is isolated from the rest of the world, Moira is expected to pour her heart out to the weird headmaster. on her first nice, she hears distant music. one her second, she discovers the lock on her window is broken. on her third, she and her roommate go outside and learn that they aren’t that isolated after all. there is another castle school nearby, which is for boys.

five ways to fall out of love by Emily Martian. this book comes out March 16th. Aubrey Cash learned the hard way to not rely on love. after all, Webster Casey, the boy next door type, she’s been falling for all summer, stood her up in front of everyone on homecoming. providing her theory that loves never lasts, when she is faced with her parents whose marriage is falling apart and her best friend who every boy she dates is ‘the one.’ but, when sparks fly with Webster’s cousin, Webster finds himself become her lap partner for the rest of the year. she finds her theory, and commitment to stay single, put to the test.

anyway, that is all for today! honestly these books just sound to be so amazing, and i’m honestly really excited to hopefully read some of these books soon.

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March tbr

hello everyone! today i am going to be talking about all the books i want to read in March. i’ll probably not get to all of these, but, it’s nice to know if i can read all of these or get to most of them. and honestly there is a couple that i really need to get to, so fingers crossed i guess.

wicked saints by Emily A Duncan. this follows a girl who can speak to gods in order to save her people without destroying herself. a prince, who is in danger and must decide who to trust. and a boy, who has a monstrous secrets that waits in the wings. and together, they must assassinate the king and stop the war.

straight on till morning by Liz Braswell. this is a twisted tale about peter pan, which the tag line for this is, what if Wendy first traveled to Neverland, with Captain Hook. 16 year old Wendy Darling’s life is not what she imagined it would be. the house is empty after her brothers have gone to school, and the dull parties where everyone thinks she talks to much, and now her parents decided to send her away to Ireland, to be a governess. her only real escape is writing down tales of Neverland, after meeting her hero, Peter Pan, four years early. so, when she gets the chance to travel to Neverland via pirate ship present itself, Wendy makes a deal with the devil. but, Neverland isn’t what she expected.

Mexican gothic by Silvia Moreno Garcia. after getting a frantic letter from her newly married cousin begging for someone to save her from her doom, Noemí Taboada heads to the High Place, a house in the Mexico countryside. she doesn’t know what she would find yet, but her husband is a handsome Englishman, is a stranger, and Noemí knows very little about the region. bu4e Noemí is very unlikely to be a rescuer, she is a glamorous debutante, in her ballgowns and perfect red lipstick. but, she is touch and smart, and she is not afraid.

the ex talk by Rachel Lynn Solomon. Shay Goldstein has been a producer at her Seattle public radio station for about a decade, and she never wants to work anywhere else. but, now she is clashing with her newest colleague, Dominic Yun, who is fresh off a journalism master program and thinks he knows everything about public radio. when they need a new concept, Shay proposes a show, the ex talk, where two exes will deliver relationship advice live. their boss thinks that Dominic and Shay are perfect co host, given how much they hate each other. they don’t like the idea of lying to their listeners, but its this, or not having a job. as they work together more and more, they start to fall for each other.

a Cuban girls’ guide to tea and tomorrow by Laura Taylor Namey. spending a summer in England was never the plan for Lila Reyes. the plan was to take over her abuela’s role as the head baker at their restaurant, move in with her best friend after graduation, and live happily ever after with her boyfriend. but, then the trifecta happened, and Lila’s parents were worried about her mental health, so they make a plan. spend three months with family friends in Winchester, England, to relax and rest. but, with the lack of sun, the grumpy inn cook, and the lack of Miami flavor, in food and otherwise, what feels like a dream, is otherwise, till she meets Orion Maxwell. from Winchester drama filled music scene to the sweeping English countryside, it isn’t long before Lila isn’t only charmed by Orion, but also the England countryside.

if it makes you happy by Claire Kann. with high school finally behind her, Winnie is set to attend college in the fall. but, before all of that, she is spending her summer days at her grandma’s diners and is spending the nights in Dallas with the boy she loves to hate and hates that she likes. but, Winnie lives in Misty Haven, a small town where secrets are impossible to keep, like when she allegedly snaps on Dr. Skinner, which results in everyone thinking they need to give her weight loss advice. with her dreams of someday inheriting the diner, but it’ll go away if they can’t make money, fast. the solution? win a TV cooking competition and make bank.

the shadow between us by Tricia Levenseller. Alessandra is tried of being overlooked, but she has plan to gain power, woo the shadow king, marry him, and kill him and take the kingdom for herself. nobody knows the extent of the freshly crowned Shadow King’s power. people say that he can command the shadow and make it swirl around him to do his bidding. other say that they speak to him, whispering the thoughts of his enemies. but, Alessandra knows what she deserves, and she is going to do everything to get it. but, Alessandra isn’t the only one who is trying to kill the king, as attempts on his life are made, she finds herself trying to keep him alive long enough to get her to be the queen, while also trying to not lose her heart.

hand on the wall by Maureen Johnson. okay, so i’m not going to be talking about what this is about since it is the third book in a series and i don’t want to spoil anyone. but, this is the third book in the truly devious series.

shadow and bone by Leigh Bardugo. with being surrounded by the enemies, the once amazing nation of Ravka has been torn apart by the Shadow Fold. Alina Starkov has never been good at anything. but, when her regiment is attacked by the Fold and her best friend is injured, Aline revels her dormant power that saves his life, a power that could be the key to setting her war ravaged country free. with her new power, she is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the Darkling.

the duke and i by Julia Quinn. i’m also not gonna talk about this book to much, since i feel like everyone knows what Bridgerton is about, so yeah. but, i mean i’m honestly really excited to read this book

hello, cruel heart by Maureen Johnson. so, this is about the new movie, Cruella. this story takes place when Estella is sixteen years old, and she has the talent and ambition to become a renowned fashion designer. and this is inspired by the new disney live action movie, cruella.

go the distance by Jen Calonita. what if Meg had to become a god? after Hercules proves he is a true hero and regains his godship, all seems to be right in the world. that is, until Zeus tells Meg that she can’t be with Hercules because she is mortal. but, Hera has a mission, offering Meg a chance to prove herself worthy to get a spot on Mt. Olympus, as a god, but just to complete a quest. the mission is to rescue her ex’s wife from the underworld.

kisses and croissants by Anne-Sophie Jouhanneau. Mia is a seventeen year old American girl at an elite summer ballet program, and now has six weeks to achieve her dreams: snag an audition with one of the world’s best ballet companies. but, in Paris there is more then just ballet, especially when a charming French boy, Louis, wants to be her tour guide, and the pair discovers the city has a few mysteries up it’s sleeve.

the extraordinaries by TJ Klune. Nick Bell is anything but extraordinary but being the most popular fanfiction writer in the extraordinaries fandom is a superpower. once he gets the chance to meet Shadow Star, his biggest crush, Nick wants to make himself extraordinary. and he will do this with or without his best friend, Seth Gray, and maybe the love of his life.

unbirthday by Liz Braswell. what if wonderland was in peril and Alice was very, vey late. Alice is not like other girls, since she rather spend times taking photos of random children then becoming ‘respectable’ member of the society. but, she also wants to get closure with the young lawyer since he is sweet and charming. but, once Alice finds photos she took around the town, she sees the familiar faces, the queen of hearts, the mad hatter, the caterpillar.

the beat match by Kelly Siskind. Weston Aldrich is known for his devastating looks and the crisp Italian suits. he’s been told to take over her family business and is on the brink of closing a massive merger, with only two wildcards. 1. if anyone learns he performs as a masked DJ, and 2. Annie Ward. Annie Ward is the girl he promised to raise after her brother died. the scatterbrained girl who makes her mission in life to drive him crazy.

accidentally in love by Belinda Missen. in a matter of a week, Katharine Patterson has quit her job, decided to move back home, and broken up with the guy she thought was the one. but, she has a plan. she is going to open her own art gallery, just like she always wanted. and she is isn’t going to worry about boyfriends, till she meets Kit. who is a handsome and talented local artist. he might be one of the most stubborn person katherine has meet in a while, but he might make her feel like no one else ever has.

the lost love song by Minnie Darke. in Australia, Arie Johnson waits impatiently for classic pianist, Diana Clare to return from a world tour, and maybe finally get engaged. when she was traveling, Diana writes a song for Arie, it is the perfect way to express her love, but it is overheard. in Scotland, Evie Greenlees is drifting. it has been years since she left Australia with a one way ticket and a backpack and the dream of becoming a poet. now, she spends her days making coffee and serving beer. and she is not even sure whether the guy she lives with is really her boyfriend or just a flatmate.

anyway, that is all for today! honestly i have so many books i want to read this month, plus a couple March arcs i didn’t even include on here. but, i’m still so excited to get to a couple of these books this month.

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February wrap up

hello everyone! today i am going to be talking about all the books i’ve read this month. honestly, i read a good amount of books, but i’m slowly getting into a reading slump and it honestly sucks cause i have so much i need to read. but, hopefully i can get out of it soon, so i can read what i want and not to hate it.

you have a match by Emma Lord. i gave this book 2/5 stars. honestly, this book sucked. like, in this book it was just so much drama, and like it was a long book, but yet nothing happened in this book, and i can barely just tell you what happened in this book without looking back into my notes.

wilder girls by Rory Power. i gave this book 4/5 stars. overall, this book was honestly so good and i was honestly really surprised about how good this book was. and i honestly really liked the characters and the whole plot and everything that was happening in this book cause it was just so good and amazing.

you should see me in a crown by Leah Johnson. i gave this book 3/5 stars. honestly, i think i hyped this book up way to much for myself, since it was just not good. like, overall, it was a good book, but i honestly couldn’t get into it cause i feel like we were being held at an arms length away from this book, and everything that was happening, so that honestly sucked.

those who prey by Jennifer Moffett. i gave this book 2/5 stars. honestly, this book was a hot mess. like a dumpster on fire, it was so bad. the whole plot wasn’t fleshed out well enough, and i just think it’s unbelievable that she didn’t put it together that it was a cult. and it also rubbed me the wrong way like they dropped the f slur towards the end of the book, like there was zero reason for this to be in the book.

honey girls by Morgan Rogers. i gave this book 3/5 stars. thank you so much for an arc of this book! i honestly feel like this book also sadly fell to the whole, it’s hyped up so much i just didn’t like it. but, i also feel like this book just had so many character, who had these cool jobs, but their whole personality was just their jobs. but, this book had such good mental health rep though.

fable by Adrienne Young. i gave this book 2/5 stars. thank you again for an arc of this book! this was honestly such a shit show. like, it was so much drama, and none of it was interesting. and this kind of gave me shadow and bone vibes, just like at certain parts, but they still are way different from each other, just the cast of characters.

The Black Kids by Christina Hammonds Reed. i gave this book 2/5 stars. honestly, this book had so much potential, but i feel like there was just so much petty high school drama. and like most of it was about sex, and who slept with who and who cheated on who. like, there was one friendship/romance that i would have totally wanted to see more about, but we never got because of all the petty drama.

under your skin by Rose McClelland. i gave this book 3/5 stars. thank you so much for an arc of this book! honestly, this book was a decent book. like, there definitely was some topics brought up that i think need to be talked about more in books, which is something i really liked. but, i mean, we did find out who did it like 50% into this book, which honestly sucked so much.

part of your nightmare by Vera Strange. i gave this book 3/5 stars. thank you so much for an arc! this was honestly pretty good for a middle grade, which i don’t have to much luck with. but, it was honestly pretty good, besides the whole parts where they were doing # something in every sentence that came out of their mouth.

the stitchers by Lorien Lawerence. i gave this book 3/5 stars. thank you for an arc of this book! this was honestly a decent book. i really liked the friendship between our two main character, but i honestly really liked that it didn’t turn into a real romance, not just fake dating, since they were so young and that would be kinda weird. but, it still was kinda basic.

shipped by Angie Hockman. i gave this book 4/5 stars. this book was honestly pretty good and so cute. i really liked the whole romance and how the characters got along, since it was enemies to lovers, which i really enjoyed. and i really enjoyed how they talked about sexism in the work place, since it is something we see so much, but never get talked about it in books. so, i liked that it dived a bit deeper.

stay gold by Tobly McSmith. i gave this book 5/5 stars. honestly, this book was such an amazing book. like, it was just such an amazing book with the plot and the characters and some of the underlining meanings. and this book was so heartbreaking, and if you do read this book, make sure you check the trigger warnings, cause this book is deep.

some laney’s died by Brooke Skipstone. i gave this book 3/5 stars. thank you for an arc of this book! honestly, this book was a mess, but kind of a good mess. like, it was just a mess with the different plot points and how it was the main character had like 10 different people, who all had the same name. but, i mean, i still think some people can like this book.

fight for her by Liz Plum. i gave this book 1/5 stars. thank you for an arc! this book was so terrible. i mean, the romance between Scarlett and Eli just didn’t work, cause the whole time they were just projecting their trauma onto each other, so it didn’t work honestly.

legendborn by Tracy Deonn. i gave this book 4/5 stars. this book was honestly pretty good, and i mean, there was so much happening it go to be kind of confusing. especially since a lot of the characters were the same, so it just got to be confusing. and, this was just me, but i did feel kind of disconnected at some points, just because i kind of stopped listening.

the girls are all so nice here by Laurie Elizabeth Flynn. i gave this book 3/5 stars. thank you for an arc of this book! honestly, i feel like this book was just kind of a mess, since there was two POVs and when they were in college it was just so much better. and like, at certain parts it just got to be so annoying.

the poppy war by RF Kuang. i gave this book 2/5 stars. honestly, this book was just not for me, personality. like, i can see why some people liked this book, but i’m just not a fantasy fan, especially high fantasy, since i only really like books that are urban fantasy. and i’m also not a fan of war books, so yeah.

anyway, i honestly didn’t have that great of a reading month, since a lot of them had bad rating, and i’m slowly going into a reading slump. but, hopefully March is better cause i have some fun books i want to get to, so hopefully that will help me a little bit.

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February book haul

hello everyone! today i am going to be talking about all the books i hauled this month. honestly, it is pretty much all e arcs, which i’m honestly pretty happy about since they all seem so good. and i really can’t wait to read all of them.

just the two of us by Ryu Hyang. Soohyuk is an pediatric emergency medicine specialist and a man who never eats something someone else gives him. he only cares about treating sick children, he also is a grouch, aside from his patients, sees a woman that starts to feed him. Yuna is a chef who makes boxed lunches who panics and collapses whenever she meets a man, due to the trauma of her past. but, instead of going to college, she opens her own business that specializes in boxed lunches, A Tasty Meal. she gets scared when she sees Soohyuk outside her restaurant, but she is only drawn to her meals, and now she is in charge of his daily meals. but, when they meet, Yuna is a confident woman who gets startled and scared when he comes near, and he wants to know everything about her.

10 truths and a dare by Ashley Elston. this book comes out May 4th. it’s senior week, and the magical in between classes and graduation, is full of themed parties, last minute bonding, and family traditions. Olivia can’t be more ready, to class salutatorian and confident in her future at LSU, she is happy to sail threw the rest of her life. as a tiny hiccup of an unsigned off campus pe form now puts Olivia in danger of not graduating, she has one week to gets thing set straight without telling her big family. and volunteering to help a local gold tournament should do it, but there is a tracking app on her phone, there is no hiding that she’s not at parties. unless, she can’t convince her four ride or die cousins, Sophie, Charlie, and Wes to trade phones with her as they play Olivia for a week.

you’ll thank me for this by Nina Siegal. this book comes out March 23rd. 12 year old Karin is blindfolded and dropped in the middle of Hoge Veluwe National Forest with 3 other children. with nothing but some basic supplues and emergency food, the children get tasked with working together to navigate one of the Netherlands’ most beautiful and wild locations to return back to their anxious families. Karin finds herself at odds with two of the teenagers, and then one of the other kids have vanished. as they struggle against the elements to find her way back, something way more sinister is in the woods.

faking reality by Sara Fujimura. this book comes out July 13th. after ‘the great homecoming disaster” Dakota McDonald swore that she’d never allow her romantic life to be the lot of her parents’ HGTV show ever again. but, then when a restaurant run by the family of her best friend, and secret crush, Leo, is on the line, she goes back on her own word. Leo Matsuda dreams of leaving his small Arizona life and the demands of working at his families restaurant, but the closer to the goal, thanks to the help of his secret crush, Dakota, the more reasons for him to stay.

tell me when you feel something by Vickie Grant. this book comes out June 15th. at first, it feels cool to be a part time program as being a simulated patient for med school students to practice on. but, now as vivacious, charismatic Viv lies in a real coma. cellphone footage just leads to more and more questions, what actually happened? some kids think it is an intentional overdose, but some can’t tell the truth.

that weekend by Kara Thomas. this book comes out June 22nd. it was supposed to be the perfect prom weekend getaway, but it was clear something terrible happened when Claire wakes up alone and bloodied on a hiking trail and no memory of the past 42 hours. three went to the mountain, and only one came back. now, everyone wants answers from Claire, she remembers Friday night, but now Kat and Jesse, her best friends, are missing. Claire knows the answers are buried somewhere in her memory, but she is now learning everyone has secrets, even her best friends.

fifteen hundred miles from the sun by Jonny Garza Villa. this book comes out June 8th. Julian Luna has a plan for his life: graduate, get into UCLA, have a chance to get away from Corpus Christi, Texas, and the suffocating expectations of the others people force on her. after one reckless moment, one impulsive tweet, his plans for the lowkey 9 months are thrown, literally out of the closet. then Matt, a cute, empathic Twitter crush from LA slides into Jules’ dms, Jules can tell him anything. as Jules’ fears about coming out come true, the person he needs is fifteen hundred miles away, Jules needs to face them alone.

happy endings by Thien- Kim Lam. this book comes out May 18th. Trixie Nguyen is determined to make her sex toy business a success, providing to her traditional Vietnamese parents that she can be successful in her non traditional career. she has a fresh start in Washington DC, and his first pop up event is going well, until she runs into the ex that dumped her, with a post it note. the last person Andre Walker expected to see in his soul food restaurant is the woman he left behind in New Orleans. their chemistry is still scorching, but he’s desperately trying to save his families restaurant. the only solution is partnering up with his ex to turn Mama Hazel’s into a vibrator pop up shop for hungry and horny clients.

instruction for dancing by Nicola Yoon. this book comes out June 3rd. Evie Thomas doesn’t believe in love anymore, especially after the strangest thing occurs one afternoon: she witnesses a couple kiss and is overcome with a vision about how their romance will began, and how it will end. as Evie tries to understand why this is happening, she finds herself at La Brea Dance studio, learning to waltz, fox trot, and tango with a boy named X. he is everything Evie is not: adventurous, passionate, daring. his philosophy is to say yes to everything, including entering in a ballroom dance competition with he girl he just meet. falling for X is not what Evie had in mind. if visions of heartbreak have taught her anything, it’s that no one escapes love unscathed. but, as Evie and X dance around and towards each other, Evie is forced to question all she thought she knew about her life.

anyway, that is all for today! honestly, i got some really good e arcs this month, which i’m so excited to read closer to their pub date. and i really never expected to get Nicola Yoon’s book, since it’s so big, and i just didn’t think i’d get it, so that was really cool.

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truly devious review

hello everyone! today i am going to be talking about truly devious by Maureen Johnson. i gave this book 4/5 stars. honestly, i have already dnfed this book once, but i found the audio book, so i wanted to give it ago, and honestly this was just so good and this is now one of my favorite series in a crazy turn of events.

trigger warning- panic attacks, death, kidnapping, child death, violence, murder, blood, mental illness.

overall, i really liked this school setting. i honestly, really liked how we got to see this high school, or whatever it technically is. but, that it was about what the kids what to learn. and i honestly just found that to be kind of cool, since i feel like most boarding schools deal with like art and whatever they are into. and i don’t know, i just found that one to be kind of cool and i just really liked it.

and i feel like the atmosphere just added so much to this story. cause i feel like if it was just a regular high school or even a happier and more lively boarding school it wouldn’t really work. and cause it’s so dark i feel like it was just so good and i really liked it. and it was kind of a modern Sherlock Holmes, to a degree, with i really liked.

and i really liked the whole character driven story. since, i feel like there are some YA thriller mysteries that are more plot driven, so with this one being more character driven it was just pretty cool. and it was honestly so good and i just completely loved how this worked and the writing style was just so cool.

i also thought it was kind of cool that we get to see the past and also the present. since, they are mixed together, with Stevie trying to figure out what actually happened. so, it was just cool to see what was going on now, with figuring out who did it and Stevie’s day to day life, but also what happened to the school after everything.

Stevie was also such a cool character. since i mean we got to see how she acts with both mysteries and just a really deep look into her mind. and i think she was such a well rounded character, which was so cool. like Stevie was such a true crime nerd, which is something that was just so cool and i really liked.

this is more in the next book, but it’s still in here a little bit, but i honestly loved the riddles. like, they were just so cool and kind of added a depth to this book, since Stevie had to figure everything out in order to figure out the case and what actually happened. and no hate to other books, but i feel like this just added so much to the story, which some books are kind of missing, so i really liked this depth.

but, i did find the romance to be kind of stupid. like, she came to this school to figure out this mystery and to go to school and everything. but, then it was just like a switch that made her kind of forget about this mystery for this romance. which, i mean i just thought it was so stupid and it really took away from the story.

and i would have completely liked the romance so much more if it was more of a subplot, and not the main thing in this book. and like i liked the two characters, but not really together since it just was kind of boring and not good, especially as the main plot.

but, also Stevie was supposed to be besties and like Janelle was the sole reason she went to this school, but then she just like disappeared. like, she was still in this book, which honestly sucked and didn’t make much sense. cause, if you go to this school for someone, you would probably be stuck at the hip with them, so that honestly sucked.

this might have just been me, or i thought they were talking about the different person. but, there was this character, i think their name was Vi or Vivi, something along those lines. but, they made it super clear that their pronouns are they/them, but then when people where talking about them, they would use she/her when they weren’t around. which, was just so annoying, if i’m remembering this right.

but, i also feel like a ton of plot points and different things just brought up. which, was pretty cool, and had so much potential, but then it just didn’t work out. like, it was brought up so much, and it felt like every time something was brought up, but then it kind of just fell to the side, since new things would just be brought up. and this just made me feel like of like things were just falling to the side.

and i mean the ending of the book also felt like so rushed. like Johnson could only hit so many pages she couldn’t go over so she just needed to wrap everything up so quickly. which, was just so shitty. and this is probably just me, but it was just so rushed and kind of took me away from the story.

and then there was so many characters in this school it just got to be so hard to understand and remember who was who. since, there was just so many of them, it was so hard to remember who was who. and i mean most of them just didn’t have a personality, so that is also probably why i couldn’t really remember who everyone was.

anyway, that is all for today! i hope you liked this blog post, since it was kind of all over the place. but, i mean this series is honestly so good, and i really loved this book. and i’m so excited to read the rest of this series for when the new book comes out later this year.

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honey girls review

hello everyone! today i am going to be talking about honey girls by Morgan Rogers. i gave this book 3/5 stars. first off, happy pub date to this book, even though i feel like everyone has already read this. and thank you so much Park Row Books and Netgalley for an arc of this book!

trigger warning- self harm, mental illness, panic attacks, homophobia, and racism.

first off, this book honestly reads so much like a debut. i mean, i feel like it was just one of those basic books, like it was a good. but, it wasn’t the best book in the world. granted, it could have gotten fixed since the final version, but i just found this to be kind of boring.

but, i do feel like this book is more YA writing and feel, which isn’t really a bad thing. but, when i think of adult romance i feel like it is normally more fluff and just more sex. but, i mean i think that it just didn’t just have the feel of an adult book. and also it was just really didn’t hit the synopsis head on though.

but, i mean, i feel like the background characters were more interesting and just well rounded. and, not saying that Grace was a bad character per say, but i just feel like her friends in Portland just had a personality, to a degree, and wasn’t that flat. but, i mean, even Yuki’s friends in NYC were also just better and funny. and they really added to the story.

with that being said, i feel like a lot of these character had no personalities. like, i feel like all the men in this story had a personality. but, then everyone else’s personality was pretty much just their job. so, Grace’s whole personality was just her having her PhD and liking astronomy. and that goes for all of the characters, like her friends were just being a doctor and Yuki’s was just her being mysterious.

but, i also feel like most of the characters didn’t have any growth. like, i feel like it just didn’t have to much growth between Yuki and Grace and their relationship. and it just it being very forced, which i’ll talk about more later. and i feel like Grace pretty much started and ended in the same place, besides now she is in like Orlando, not Portland and actually likes her wife.

and i do feel like some of the friendships were so forced. like, we got to see these friendships, but they were kind of only friends to befit someone else. which, was just so annoying. but, also just like Grace’s work friends and her personal friends were just so forced and hard to read about.

side note, i feel like Grace’s two friends getting together and like becoming a couple also felt so cursed. like, it just didn’t work out and it felt like it was only a thing because Grace shipped it. which, honestly sucked.

then again, i do feel like a lot of girls in romance books, mainly the main characters though, are like teacup yorkies. so, having these characters not be perfect and have flaws that we can all point out and see, was kind of nice. like they all had mental health issues, and it felt to be so real and like it was the truth and not the watered down version for romance books. which, is something i really liked and really thought was so well done.

and honestly it was just cool to see that after college you are clueless. cause i feel like we get it in books, but it is like oh i want to be a writer and the editor chief in this company but i’m only an assistant. or something along the lines of that. so, seeing a character that was pretty confused and that really had no clue what she wanted to do and overall just needed a break was pretty cool. and also the whole show that life after college isn’t that amazing and you’re still lost af was just so cool.

i really liked the whole found family trope. like, it was just so nice to see an actual good show on how found family works. and that they were like good found family, and not that crappy shit we got in some books. but, also i just liked to see all of them being friends and actually caring for them.

and i mean if you are going into this book for a cute romance book, it’s totally not that. i mean, it is so dark, since it goes into so much talk about mental health, especially self harm. but, i mean this was still pretty good, and i feel like the description was very misleading, and i feel like that needs to be told to other people. and if you’re going into this for a Vegas wedding, it’s not just that.

anyway, that is all for today! i honestly would totally read whatever this author publishes in the future. since, this book just had some dumps, like most debut book has. so, i would honestly really like for this author to publish more, since they totally has so much potentially.

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the inheritance game review

hello everyone! today i am going to be talking about the inheritance game by Jennifer Lynn Barnes. i gave this book 3/5 stars. honestly, this book wasn’t that good, which honestly sucked cause everyone loves it, but at least the cover was really nice, and it was just so cute.

trigger warning- jk rowling mentioned, harry potter mentioned, death, cancer, domestic abuse, toxic relationship.

first off, the first part of this book, maybe 150 pages, where so good. like we were learning the story and the family and how everything worked. which i honestly really liked and i really fucked with. but, i mean after it kind of just fell short and i mean it wasn’t that good in the end.

but, all of the family, especially the brothers, where so confusing. like, Barnes’ pretty much just said, here’s Jamie, if that is even his name, and here’s Grayson, and then that was it. and i mean, we got to see a little bit of their personality but it was just really weird cause we only focused on like two brothers, and i really cannot tell you anything about the two other brothers.

and also most of their plot and their family issues could completely be solved with therapy. like all the family issue would have been fixed if we just went to therapy, or hell just even talked to each other. like, they just had so much trauma built up and it could completely go away, or at least get fixed.

but, the best character in this book was Avery’s best friend. i don’t really remember her name, and i can’t find any reviews where they say her name. but, she was the best character in this book and honestly i really liked how she would talk Avery threw things and she actually was kind of smart, compared to everyone else. and she was also the good old comic relief character, which i really liked.

and i’ve literally seen nobody talk about this, but why the hell is nobody talking about how this billionaire was like stalking this teenager and taking random photos of her doing whatever the hell she was doing. and like if he really cared about her so much, he would have gave her some money or something when she was living in her car and like barely eating. but, he dies and now he thinks its a great time to give her money to deal with his families trauma and make it into this whole olympics game.

and i mean we are talking about a billionaire, who can afford to give Avery a nicer car or hell even a solo apartment for her to live in when he was still alive. like, it was so stupid that he has all of this money but never did anything like that. or, hell even just pay for a family therapist for his mess of a family.

but, the love triangle was also so bad. like it literally made zero sense because there was no connection between the two of the brothers and it was obvious. but, also just having them both be brothers, who she was like falling for, was kinda gross. and i mean, isn’t for a love triangle to work, doesn’t it have to be like twilight, so bella is on top, and edward wants bella, but jacob wants bella and then kinda has a thing for edward. so, a love triangle between brothers is just kinda gross.

but, also with the romance it raises the question, how old is Avery? like yeah i know she’s a teenager, but she is literally running around with adults as a minor, and she’s like in a love triangle with this adult. and i know her sister was kind of MIA for a lot of it, but still. you’d except her to come back and then be like, it’s messed up, you need to stop till you’re an adult.

okay, this is kind of stupid, but whatever. so, this house has a series of tunnels into it, which like lead to the kitchens, libraries, living rooms, closets, and even the like bedrooms and bathrooms. which, i honestly found to be so weird, like yeah it’s might be cool in a romance novel for like a booty call, but when they are like teenagers? it’s hella weird, and i mean i wouldn’t want to be in the shower and have some dude walk in.

but, this was also so predicate. like, i was reading this book and i called half of the shit that was gonna happened and who did it when it was happening. so, that was pretty disappointing. and i mean, she had this moment with this one characters mystery that was like ground breaking, and when she first mentioned him i was like yeah he sounds kinda sus, and then it turned out to be this big ass thing and i was like ofc it was.

and i’ve seen some people say this, but i definitely agree with them saying it should be a college level characters and plot. like it could be so much funnier, and just have the stakes to be higher and overall just a better time. especially if she goes to school where they hate rich people, it could add so much. and just take the weird ass love triangle out.

then the whole weird subplot about emily was just so dumb. like they would go on and on and on about how the some of the brothers were like in love with her. and how one of them got with her, but she dumped him to get with a different brother. like, it was so stupid cause this is about avery, and then it was like the same plot that avery is going threw or will happen in book 2.

but, this is kind of jumping back to it being predictable. but, we went on and on and on about how the boys don’t know who their dad was, and the grandpa died with that secrets. but, they weren’t even thinking about the mom, so like shouldn’t she kind of remember she had sex with x amount of years ago? like, they would go on and on and on about they don’t know who their father is, when the mom probably knows something about her sons dad.

anyway, that is all for today! i hope you enjoyed this blog post! honestly, this wasn’t the best book, and it honestly had a lot of issues. but, i kind of hope book 2 fixes it. since, i’m just gonna read it for the pretty cover and it says fans of Holly Jackson should like it, so i might it a go.

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so you want to talk about Rick Riordan? pt 1

hello everyone! Today I am going to be a very weird blog post, since it isn’t like a review or even a tag. Instead we are going to be talking about Rick Riordan and why we shouldn’t praise him the amount we do. Before we get into this, i just want to lay out a couple things. First and foremost, take everything i say with a grain of salt, i found all my info either from me reading these books years ago, tumblr threads, and also reddit posts. Second, you can say your thoughts and opinions on this, but be respectful. And last but not least, i know Riordan has given so much light on raising up POC and Woman voices for their books and published them. But, we still need to talk about everything that is wrong with his books. 

And since this is going to be a bit of a long post, this is going to be in multiple different parts. I’m also going to be talking about this in multiple different parts, so basically instead of having everything all over the place, it’s going to focus on a common thing. You’ll see what I mean when we get into this. But, this post might get triggering, so this is your warning. and in this post i’m no way ripping on anyone that might deal with anything in here, i’m just trying to bring awareness to some of the shitty things in this book.

ABLEISM- 

Ableism is the discrimination and social prejudice against people with disabilities or who are perceived to have disabilities. Ableism characterizes persons as defined by their disabilities and as inferior to the non- disabled. 

The first person that i wanted to bring up was Rachel Elizabeth Dare. I personally wouldn’t consider her to be a main character, but she is one of the bigger characters, to some degree, and needless to say there are some issues about her. But, basically a bunch of people in the PJO fandom think that Rachel has some sort of schizophrenia and/or psychosis. This was really brought up in BoTL, but this is going to be a common thing in Riordan’s books and also in this post when I’m talking about his writing, is that there are a lot of mental health issues or disabilities brought up, but then they are just dropped. 

One of the main criticisms with this character about how crappy he did his research with this. And people that have schizophrenia and/or psychosis have said that Riordan did not do the proper amount of research for this mental illness correctly. Then the research that he did was not good and it was basically onl surface level for everything. And also Riordan was talking about the mental illness once, but then brushed it to the side, kind of like a plot choice. 

And this goes for more than just Rachel, but there could be so many mental illnesses and disabilities that get brought up, but then just get dropped. And this has happened to many different things in his books, and it’s just so bad and it makes me so angry. But, I do feel like if different mental illnesses get brought up at a younger age, it wouldn’t be such a hush hush topic when kids get older and can make some interesting topics. 

Moving on to the next person, we are going to talk about Grover. This character has got so much controversy, and I 100 percent that there are so many things wrong with his character. One of the things that gets brought up a ton is the criticism in the first couple chapters in the lighting thief. But, one of the main things for him is that he doesn’t have human feet, instead he has hooves, and i like to think of them as a cross between a horse and a goat. And obviously when he is in the human world he just can’t have hooves, so he has to cover them up. 

So, with Grover needing to cover this up, he has to wear some sort of braces. And these braces basically just cover up the hooves and makes it look like he has some sort of chronic pain issue. So, with having this character with hooves, he had braces and then canes to help him walk. But, it got told that Grover got severely bullied, and then he got bullied because he isn’t ‘normal.’ and he’s one of the biggest disabled and deals with chronic pain, but a lot of people said the research was half assed and that all of this was never talked about ever again in any of the books. 

The next character was going to talk about Tyson. Tyson is another character that is really well known, and that a lot of people know who he is and a lot about him. But, basically that Tyson is a cyclops, and that he normally has one eye, but sometimes he does sometimes have two eyes. 

But, the real issue with his character is that threw the mist, it makes him look like he has two eyes and that he looks “abnormal.” the whole mist thing also plays somewhat of a part in Grover too. Anyway, threw the mist Tyson doesn’t look ‘normal’ and a lot of people have pointed out that it made it look like Tyson has down syndrome, since he’s not “normal.” I don’t need to spell it out for you, but you can see why Riordan got crap for this, since what would even tell a grown adult to write this. 

Now, let’s talk about a character that everyone loves, is Nico de Angelo. Like I said, this character is talked about a ton on bookstagram and everyone loves him a lot. Even around Halloween I saw a ton of people dress up as him on bookstagram and twitter, which looks good, but if you dive deeper into things about him, there are just more and more issues. I’m only going to bring up a little bit about him now, since there’s another bigger topic that involves Nico. 

If you don’t know, Nico deals with chronic pain and also fatigue. And also when he uses his powers, it kind of triggers all of this to happen, since he gets super exhausted, which causes fatigue and chronic pain. Which, how well Riordan wrote this is the same as everyone else, it’s shitty and he needed more proper research to be done. But, one thing i’ve only seen a couple of times is if Nico was so sick, shouldn’t he have had some sort of service dog, so it can help Nico if he falls or even get help to call 911? 

The next character I want to bring up is Clovis.who is honestly just used to be this comic relief character since he sleeps a lot, since he was disabled. And it was pretty much just used as “omg lol he sleeps a lot hahaha.” while also just using his disability as his entire personality. And I know people in real life that have chronic illness, and nothing is honestly funny about it at all. With chronic fatigue, it makes you sleep all the time, like you’d oversleep before going to school/class, sleep thru car rides even if it is a short ride, whenever you get home you go to sleep, so you get the point. And like even the simplest tasks will make you so tried, so it’s nothing to laugh about. 

And having this big ass author make jokes about it isn’t okay. Like, you know how many kids will read this book, and now think that this is just a joke. And I mean, it was so annoying to see how Riordan treated him. From what i’ve seen and read about, everyone kind of has one thing in common about how you can go on medicine in order to try to help. Which was never brought up in the books and was just brushed off and made jokes about it. Moral of the story, chronic illness isn’t a joke. 

In these books, there aren’t really any disabled characters in these series. Nico can be argued about, but i don’t really think he is supposed to be disabled. And this is something that i have seen nowhere besides like one reddit post. But, throughout the first series, Luke is told to deal with some sort of facial scarring, but Luke is told to be grotesque. But then there’s this other character, Jason, who is said to have a tiny little scar on his lip, and he’s a good guy and handsome. So, please tell me you see the issues with this. 

Then, I’m going to talk about Grover and Chiron having faking disabilities. I seriously don’t understand why Riordan and his editors thought it was a good idea to have these characters fake disabilities, since so many people have them, and they get told that they are being babies and nobody listens to people that actually have it. 

I’ve already talked about this a little but, but everyone in this book is said to have some sort of learning disability. And did you know that there is some kind of overlap between adhd and Autism? It is honestly surprising that there is no character that has it canonically. Again, I’ve already said that there is a strong argument for some of the characters, mainy Nico and Leo. And that there is also talk about how Nico and Leo feel bad or weird or even alienated by their different Autistic traits, but yet they cannot actually say that they are Autistic. 

I’ve also dealt with dyslexia my whole life. It started when I was really young, and now I still deal with it on a daily basis when i’m reading or writing. And, honestly, I know that a lot of people who deal with this. But, upfront this book looks like that the dyselxica rep would be pretty good, since it’s a main thing in this story. Personally, I found that every single thing is that “oh they can’t read,” when it’s headaches when you constantly read, and it’s hard to spell and like reading in front of the class gives you a lot of anxiety. When in here it’s basic af, in here and it also shouldn’t get praised that much. 

  • The lack of physical disabled people, even though there is a shit ton of books? Ableist. 
  • the lack of exploration of their learning disabilities and it is only played as a plot choice? Ableist.
  • the treatment for autistic coded characters? Ableist.
  • having MULTIPLE character faking their disabilities? (i don’t care about the mist or magic or whatever it’s called.) ableist.
  • the use of physical deformity characters as the villains? Ableist.  

But, I’ve read these books, and I’ve read posts about these books, but these books have zero mental health rep. Like, it’s a camp of teenagers and young adults, and nobody is completely perfect. But, there have been some threads and tweets on twitter about how Riordan allegedly said something along the lines of “i don’t write books with characters with mental illness or disabled people since demigods are stronger than that.” and when i read that, it kind of comes across to me, if you have disables your weak, if you have any mental health issues, your weak. Which is just so wrong.

anyway, that is all for today! i honestly hoped you liked this post and maybe learnt something about him. there will be another part in this talking more in depth about characters in his books and just pointing out some issues.

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rent a boyfriend review

hello everyone! today i am going to be talking about rent a boyfriend by Gloria Chao. i gave this book 4/5 stars. honestly, this book was pretty good, and like i really didn’t know what this book was about before i read it, since i pretty much just picked it up because the cover was pretty.

trigger warning- harry potter mentioned, body shaming, fatphobia, misogyny, sexism, chronic illness, emotional abuse, racism.

i’m also going to be calling Drew, Drew not Andrew since he wanted to go by that. and also call Chloe, Chloe and not Jing-Jing since she preferred Chloe more then her birthname.

honestly, this book is kind of heavy. i mean, it had a couple heavier moments, but it wasn’t the whole book, which i honestly really liked. and it is really balanced between the cuter moments and then the harder moments. but, i still thought the heavier moments where necessary and still we really good and did bring the family together.

but, there are a lot of parts where they did talk about the man they wanted Chloe to get with. and i mean, the guy was a complete dick, which sucked but he served his purpose. and i mean, it honestly sucked that she had to deal with it. i mean, she didn’t want to to get with this guy but she was kind of forced into.

and yeah, her parents did force her into all of that, but i mean they came around to actually liking Drew and taking their daughters feelings into it. which, was honestly so cute, which probably isn’t the right word, but i really liked how the parents started to turn around and open their eyes more.

but, Drew was such a sweet character. like, he really saw Chloe for who she was, which i really liked. and like he was one of those people you can talk to about anything and they would always help you threw no matter what. and i mean, he was such an amazing artist, and i honestly thought he was such a cinnamon role of a character.

between both of the characters, but mainly Drew, i really wanted to give them both a hug at some parts. like, they both where very closed off and were kind of loners. but, then we slowly kind of get them to opening up to each other and becoming vulnerable to each other, which i honestly loved. and then how they slowly became playful with each other, which i honestly really liked.

this is honestly the perfect romance if you like the whole Kasie West and/or fake dating. it was honestly such a cute book and gave me major Kasie West vibes. since, this just had the cutesy romance that her books have. and the faking dating was honestly way more deeper then just the fake dating, but it was still cute. especially if you want something like to all the boys i’ve loved before if you just watched those movies.

i did honestly really like the whole parts when they went to do different holiday activities. especially when they were just doing the cute Christmas activity. which, i really liked how they just acted around each other and also just it was so freaking cute.

but, there is some parts where we get to see between the holidays and just what they did between that. and i wasn’t even that much of a plot, but we still got something here and there. which, was honestly the most boring part of the book, since Chloe was in Chicago and Drew in California.

and i honestly really liked the whole parts where they did text a lot. since, there texting was just so cute, and they were just so cute with each other. like, all the talk about the llamas were so cute. and just how they acted with each other, it was just so cute and i really loved it.

but, now about how Hongbo and Chloe’s romance was forced together and how they had to navigate their arranged marriage. like, it was really interesting to see all of this and just to play everything out. and even just the whole plot about how he was a dick, and she literally didn’t want to get with him.

it really sucked though how there was so much sexism between Hongbo’s side and Chloe’s side of the ‘romance.’ like, it was really shitty to see how Chloe was only going threw all of this because Chloe was deemed a good wife cause she has a ‘golden vagina’ and she hasn’t had sex yet. so, she was going to be a good wife, which honestly sucked but, i still kind of enjoyed reading this.

but, i honestly did not know that this book is a fictional version of the real Rent a Boyfriend company and practice in some countries in Asian. which, i honestly thought it was kind of cool for Chao to write something like this and to bring this up, since most of us wouldn’t know about it if it wasn’t in these books. and this kind of went into this deep dive into this practice and it is kind of interesting so i highly suggest looking this up.

and, i mean the culture was also just so rich, which i loved so much. like we got to see the different practices that aren’t in the popular christmas and holiday movies. and it honestly this is probably just the writing, we honestly really got immersed into this world.

anyway, that is all for today! i honestly really liked this book so much, and it was just so cute. and this would honestly be the perfect book for someone that likes or just watched to all the boys i’ve loved before. and also i really want to see what else this author has wrote, and what she will write in the future.

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