hello everyone! today i am going to talk about shine your icy crown by Amanda Lovelace. i gave this book 5/5 stars. first off, thank you so much Netgalley and the publisher for an arc of this book! and also happy pub date to this book!
this review is also going to be kind of short, since i don’t have to much to talk about.
but, i do feel like Lovelace kind of reached into every single women’s life and put it in a poetry collection. and i mean, i feel like it was kind of so normalized, which is just so depressing, but i really liked how they talked about it and how it literally sucks for a lot to be a women in 2021.
i do honestly feel like this book is a lot of real advice. which, was pretty cool, and it honestly feels like something you can read and go back to it whenever you need it. which, is honestly so cool. but, i mean i think that it gets the point across, and really tells you how to live your life in a certain way.
but, on a more negitive note, i feel like this book was kind of repetive. and i’ll include a couple, but i feel like it was just annoying. but, i mean i think it was kind of a pain, since it was just so much so quickly. and half of them weren’t even poetry.
some examples-
“why does nobody want me?”
why, why why, why, why?
‘your to pretty to be single.”
says him
so, you get what i’m trying to get at. but, then when it wasn’t like that, it was like i’m considered a poet cause half of my shit doesn’t make sense, then there is a lot of commas, and then these are sentences that i would get yelled at if i used in school homework. so, you get the point.
i’ve never read their other stories, but from what i can gather from just reading what they are about, it seems to be kind of different. since, in here it talked about how this was sisters, not so much of a fairy tale. which, i honestly really liked how they talked about sisters, and how sisters will forever be connected.
but, also i really liked that it was cool how it got told like you actually have a sister. personally, i don’t have a sister, but i feel like this is kind of having a sister to talk to when you have an issue. which, i really liked in here. and it just felt like you were talked to, not talked down to like in most poetry in my experience.
anyway, i hope you enjoyed this blog post! first off, thank you so much Netgalley and the publishers for an arc! all of my feeling are my own in here, and wasn’t changed because i do have an arc. but, in the future i honestly cannot wait to read more of these books by this author in the future.
hello everyone! today i am going to be talking about city of the plague god by Sarwat Chadda. i gave this book 1/5 stars. but, thank you so much Netgalley and Disney publishing for an arc of this book! and also, happy pub date to this book!
trigger warnings- islamophobia, racism, ableist language, grief and loss of family member, death of a brother, motorcycle accident, death of a mom (on page), death from being ran over by a train, blood and gore, plague and pandemic, hospital, illness of parents, war themes, refugee experience, homelessness mentioned, murder, attempted murder, a lot of talk about insects.
first off, i felt like this book literally had zero plot. like, there was things that got brought up, but then they just got dropped, and the same thing kept happening over and over again. this honestly got so annoying. and this might just have been me, but i literally couldn’t figure out all of the different plot points. and it got to be so annoying after awhile.
another thing that i’ve seen some people on goodreads and netgalley talk about is how the author isn’t even Assyrian or Mesopotamian, but he still decided to write about their culture. and i mean, i can see how he has no real part about writing about their culture. and, its not like there isn’t any Assyrians or Mesopotamians are all dead, they are still alive. and anyone that does anything like this pisses me off since they are just making money based on someone else culture.
but, it also felt like every single page there was talks about maggots. and this literally got so annoying, since i literally do not care at all about maggots. since, they are just so gross, and every time they talked about it, it literally had zero point to the novel. and i mean, they are also just so dumb, since they literally are just maggots.
another thing that just annoyed me was that all of these characters were so flat and had zero personality. since, there was so much talk about how Ishtar was just told as being beautiful, that that was literally her only personality point, which i guess is a male writer for you. and then Belet’s only personality is that she has a sword and she has a bunch of cats named after disney cats. and then there was sik, who was as flat as a book. he literally did nothing and was so annoying and pretty much whined the whole goddamn time. and honestly his only personality trait was that he liked to cook. and that was it.
and honestly, the writing was just so bad. i’m not sure if Chadda was just trying to dumb everything down, for middle schoolers, but it literally was so annoying. like, it just got on my nerves so much how when he was writing about Ishtar, even though she was this goodness, her only purpose in her life was to have and adopt kids, and that is it.
another thing that was just weird, but also on brand for books by Rick Riordan, was that Sik and Belet where about 13 years old. which, to teach its own, is honestly pretty cool. but, then again, here they characters acted like they where 30. like, how they thought and acted wasn’t like how your 13 year old thought and acted. and i guess, in the end it really just annoyed me so much.
but, this next point i’m not really sure if this is just because this is a middle grade or something, but it annoyed me so freaking much that whenever they brought up these characters, all whom i believe are all part of ancient Mesopotamian mythology, but Chadda would make up these stupid names for them. and when i say stupid, i mean so stupid. for example, there was Ratty, Frog face, Maggot, and so many more. and these just got to be so annoying, and getting on my nerves.
another thing, was i never really understood the whole Mesopotamian mythology. since, we never really got talked about Greek mythology when we were in middle school and maybe a little bit in high school. but, we pretty much never got talked about Mesopotamian mythology ever. and when i read this book, i feel like Chadda wanted us to go into this book like we actually knew everything about it, which most people didn’t.
the next couple paragraphs are gonna be about Daoud. first thing first, was how Chadda went talking more and more about how this character is always wanted to act, and also how how he isn’t white, and how he always go the role of playing terrorist. (but, the thing you are going to need to know is that he is not Mexican.) and it honestly got so annoying about how he was always trying to get jobs about when he where he was Mexican and/or a drug dealer. which, just pissed me of because this character is definitely not Mexican and also that it is just plan weird and gross.
another thing is more of what this character said was how if you have scars on your face or really anywhere on you, you are ultimately ugly and there is no real argument in Chadda’s mind. which, for obvious reasons this annoyed the actual hell about me. like, that is literally saying that if you have these scars, you are ugly and there is no argument about that.
and i’m not sure if Chadda understands this, but even if your characters are talking, it still is you talking. so, if you say everyone with any scars is ugly, that is quite literally you saying it. and i’ve literally say nobody talking about this, which is just so annoying.
there was also so many opened questions in the end of this book. like, i’m not sure if i just didn’t read it right, but to me, there was so many things that were opened up, but never closed. and this isn’t a series, so i don’t know why he didn’t just close it up. but, i mean, there was about Belet and where she lived and about giving everyone the whole immortal crap.
but, one of my favorite parts about older people writing younger characters and what they think pop culture is. where today, pop culture is pretty much tiktok, super hero’s, Hamilton, friends and the office, so you get the basis. but, Chadda thought the peak of pop culture is flashy cars, the Kardashians, disney world, disney cats, and most likely one direction. so, you get the point, that he had no clue what he was doing, which untimely makes it more funny for me.
anyway, that is all for today! thanks so much netgalley and Disney publishing for an arc of this book! i could probably write so much longer about how much i hated this, but, i’m gonna stop right here, so this isn’t 10 pages long. but, also happy pub date!
hello everyone! today i am going to be talking about now and when by Sara Bennett Wealer. i gave this book 4/5 stars. honestly, this was a decent book, there was somethings that were missing, or just needed more explaining. but, it was still a decent book. thank you so much Netgalley and Delacorte Press for an arc of this book.
trigger warning- cheating, self harm
first thing that needed more explanation was why Truman was such a bad person. like Skyler went on and on about how she hated him, and how can’t believe in the future she marries him. but, we never got told why or what he did to Skyler that made her hate him with a burning passion. like we only go told that he was this really smart guy and that he was in the debate team, and things like that. but, nothing that can really her hate him as much as she did.
but, i did find the whole app thing to be kind of cool. i mean, it adds a whole level of if this doesn’t happen, or this thing happens, it will majorly change the outcome of how your life is going to turn out. like, if she goes on a date with Eli, she might not get married to Truman, but if she goes to study with Truman, they are going to get married. and also just the fact that they could see themselves and each other as adults was kind of cool, in my mind.
there was also some cheating in this book that was no unnecessary. it was kind of like the second kissing booth movie where Joey King’s character is like i love Noah, but then she still kisses Marco. like that was exactly what happened in here. Skyler was like i love my boyfriend Eli, but i’m still gonna make out with Truman. and honestly i just hate cheating so much, it just made me so pissed. and it literally had nothing to do with the plot, in the grand scheme of things.
it also got super annoying because there was this part bout teenage pregnancy. and then Skyler was shaming people that get pregant when tehy are teenagers. like this whole thing just pissed me off, and i literally cannot stand when they slut shame or when they teen pregnancy shame in any book. and in here she went on and on about it, which just made me so mad.
there also was this part when they talk about how one of Skyler friends, went to the hospital since she was self harming. i know there are people on goodreads who think the rep is fine. but, i honestly didn’t like it. since, they literally brought no awareness to this, and they just used it when it was convenient to the plot, which is so annoying. and i only hate when they do that so much.
this book also gave me major back to the future vibes. that is probably one of my favorite movies of all time, so with this being kinda similiar to it, it was honestly pretty cool. and i honestly think this is a really cool modern way to look at these movies and make it where more teenagers can relate and like it.
the start of this books writing was also kind of shitty. like, as the book went on, it definitely got better, but the beginning it was kind of bad. which, at this point is kind of basic. but, i still really liked it, even if the writing was kind of questionable. and i guess it just took a bit for the author to come into her skin.
there was also no chemistry between Eli and Skyler. which, i mean at one point it is understandable, but it was still annoying. and i just found it kind of hard to think that these two are this stable and in love couple that has been together for a hot second if they have zero chemistry. like there has been far more characters in non romance books that have more chemistry.
there was also so much talk about the garden. which, to teach it’s own, it sounds okay and it’s important. but, then again it got to be kind of annoying. even if this whole part got to be kind of annoying. since, there was so much talk about this.
and i also thought the whole talk about prom was decent. like, it wasn’t even that bad, but it just got to be so much after awhile. it was honestly kind of cute how it ended though, and what happened in the last couple of pages. and i honestly really cute. especially how Eli asked her to go, that was kind of cute.
spoiler-
okay so there is this like almost sex scene, and basically they were at Skyler’s sisters apartment, and they were in the living room doing their thing. and the sister walks threw the front door, and i honestly don’t know how she doesn’t see them naked. cause, the only way she wouldn’t if there was a wall there, but i don’t even think there is, and she wasn’t like “why are you guys having sex on my couch?” which, to teach its own i guess.
end of spoiler
Skyler- overall, she was a decent character. she had points that she was kind of flat and boring, and definitely very predicable. she also had parts where she was annoying, but that is kind of normal for YA characters.
Eli- Eli was pretty much the basic prep kid. i mean, he was one of those basic preppy kids that we see in boarding school books, which isn’t a terrible thing. but, he didn’t have any chemistry with Skyler.
Truman- he wasn’t the worst character in the world, but also not the best. i mean, he was kind of sweet, but he was also into school it got to be annoying. and i mean, he did have some good mortals in the end of it all.
anyway, that is all for today! i honestly really liked this book, and i thought it was so cool. and i honestly really liked the whole back to the future and how it was kind of similar. but, i do wish there was more romance in this book, since it honestly didn’t have that much in my mind.
hello everyone! today i am going to be talking about the woman outside my door by Rachel Ryan. i gave this book 4/5 stars. first off, happy (late) release date for this book, since it came out yesterday. but, also thank you Netgalley and the publisher for giving me an arc of this book.
trigger warning- cheating, kidnap, lying, drowning, car going into water, mother dying, cancer.
first thing first, i really liked the relationship between Bren and Georgina. i mean, there was so much distrust between the two different characters, and they really didn’t like each other, since Bren did cheat. and in the start Bren thought Georgina was insane, so this added a whole other element of the parents fighting. and i personally really liked how they didn’t get along that well in the start.
i also don’t completely know why Georgina didn’t take the lollipop away from Cody when he said ‘New Granny’ gave it to him. like she was so uneasy about how he got this, and where he got it. but, then she just let him have it and keep eating it. like, if i was a kid and just had this lollipop that my mom did know who gave it to me, she would straight up take it away and not even feel bad that she did it. since it’s like the biggest rule, don’t eat candy from strangers and definitely don’t eat it.
another thing that might just be the arc and how it wasn’t a perfect, but there as a couple different spelling mistakes in this book. but, the biggest one was probably whenever they were trying to say ‘jesus’ they would say ‘jaysis.’ which, i’m not sure if this is just an irish thing. but, i have no clue and i honestly just wanted it to happen since it happened a bit.
there was also so much sex in this book. and one of the many things i found weird was how Georgina was going to her neighbor for sex advice. which, i honestly found to be kind of weird. i mean, why would you go to your neighbor for sex advice. but, that is just me.
and it was also pretty cool about how many things the author put in this book, to show that this isn’t a healthy relationship. i mean, with any situation like this, it can be kind of hard to talk about. since, with everything that is happening today with like grooming and trafficking. but, i still think the author did a decent job on doing this.
but, i feel like since this is harder subject to talk about, with kids possibly being trafficked and being groomed, i’m not really sure why they didn’t go to the cops or something. and especially if you think something bad like that is going to happen.
but, there was also a bit of cheating in this book. nd i honestly do not like cheating at all in books, so having it be a central topic in this book was kind of annoying. i mean, this might just be me, but i literally could not fuck with this at all. and i mean, to me, cheating is cheating and even if it happened off page it was still so annoying.
honestly, this book was so hard to put down, and i honestly loved this. like, this whole book was so easy to keep me wondering what was actually happening. and i mean, this book kept me on the edge of my seat. and this was just so good.
and this author is definitely an author that i would want to watch for them to release other books. since, this honestly sounds so freaking good, and i feel like they would make some more killer family drama and psychological suspense books.
spoiler time-
i honestly found the ending so predicable. like, i feel like the once they start to talk about Anne, it is honestly so easy to tell that she is the one that is kidnapping Cody and is playing New Granny. and i mean, i feel like it is kind of basic, and easy to tell what is going on.
but, i also found it to be kind of weird that after they found Cody the next day Bren and Georgina got like go touchy after they got Cody back. and i feel like it is kind of weird how after they found him, it was just so perfect their life then. and also how they had sex after. i mean, i feel like it was so weird and made me kind of uncomfortable.
anyway, that is all for today! happy release date to this book! thank you so much Netgalley and the publisher for an arc of this book! this was honestly a really good book, and i can’t wait to read other books by this author in the future.
hello everyone! today i am going to be talking about cinderella is dead by Kalynn Baryon. i gave this book 4/5 stars. i honestly loved this book so much, but i do have a couple of issues with it, which i’ll explain more in the next couple paragraphs. but, thank you so much netgalley for giving me this arc. and this review is completely unbiased.
one of my biggest issues with this book, is the romance. i’m a big romance fan, and i pretty much only read books that deal with some sort of romance. but, in here the romance was kind of shitty. my biggest issue with the romance was how Sophia went on and on about how she is in love with Erin, but then Sophia just kind of gets with Constance. and honestly that just rubbed me the wrong way, since she was in love with this other girl for years and years and then she just says “oh who cares lets just get with someone else.” and this just honestly annoyed the hell out of me.
another thing about the romance was how it was insta love. i personally don’t really like insta love, but this was just kind of annoying in here. since, i mean Sophia just was so in love with Erin and then right when she just like met Constance and then she just moved on so quick. but i do think that this book wasn’t romance heavy, but still was pretty insta love.
and i do feel like a lot of YA fantasy’s that i hear about on Instagram and even booktube it is very insta love. and i honestly feel like that just needs to be changed in general for YA fantasy romances. they just need to pick another path besides insta love.
i do wish we did get more explanation on the world. i feel like we just got zero explanation besides a little bit here and there about what Cinderella was like and things about how this world lived dealt with Cinderella. but, i do wish we just got some more about the world and how everything works.
and i don’t read that much fantasy, but one thing i wanted was more meat about Sophia. like this whole book was about over throwing the government. i understand that she wants to over throw it since she hates how everything is ruled over, but i just wanted to know why? why would you want to do this? want drives you to do this? and i feel like she had drive, but i just wanted to know what pushed her.
but i also feel like the pace within this book was pretty decent. there was times that it was super predicable, but other then that i thought it was pretty decent. but, i feel like a lot of YA books are predicable, but that is kind of against the point. but, i just wanted to bring that up, since it had a nice pace, but also predicable.
i also really like the fairy godmother. and i feel like this character was kind was all over the place, but i do really like her and what she was doing for Constance and Sophia. and like she was super sweet, but i won’t get into to much about her since i don’t want to spoil anyone for the ending of this book.
the ban of characters in this book were super cool. i mean obviously our main character is a lesbian, and then Constance is probably bisexual (i don’t really remember if it was said but i saw people call her bisexual so that’s what i’m gonna say,) and then also Luke who was gay. and i honestly really liked all of them and they all worked together so well.
i’ve probably already talked about this like 100 times, but i did not really care for the ending of this book. i mean, i’ve of course read better endings, but it wasn’t like completely terrible like some endings. i feel like my biggest issue was how boring it was. i mean, i created this whole ending in my head, which i’ll do below in a spoiler warning. but, i did hope that it would pack a punch.
Sophia- i honestly really like how head strong she is. and i think that it was so cool to see how she would overthrow the government. and i mean it was even more amazing that she was lesbian and also Black. since most books are like white girls that are pissed. so this was honestly a nice surprise and since she was like so badass.
Constance- she was honestly my favorite character in this whole book. i mean she was just so bad ass and like i loved how she always stuck with Sophia no matter what. and she was just so fun and i loved the whole bomb parts. but, i do wish that we got more of her personality thoughout the story.
King Manford- i honestly really liked his character. i’m not sure why because he was kind of a dick, but i really liked that he was married to Cinderella 200 years ago. but, i also can see why Sophia hated him, and why he was such a dick.
Fairy Godmother- i really loved her throughout the book. i did find her a little odd throughout the novel, especially when she was just in the cabin, which overall was kind of odd. like as a introvert, but i don’t think i could ever live in the forest with literally nobody else.
SPOLIER WARNING-
so here is how i wanted the ending to go and how i image it. so, i completely want the whole godmother turned into King Manford’s mother, but when Sophia goes to kill Manford he like starts talking about Constance, but then we learn that King Manford and Constance are the same person. So, Sophia has to kill both of them and does. but, in the end Erin leaves her husband and then Sophia and Erin get together.
so, obviously this ending doesn’t quite work, and i didn’t really explain it that well. but, this is how i would have wanted it to go, if i wrote this book, or even like a movie script. but i would really like Constance and Manford being the same person.
anyway, that is all for today! thank you so much Netgalley for this arc! i highly recommend this book to everyone, especially if you like the original disney movie, but like years and years in the future after the happily ever after.
r.bookish 