Tag: YA Book Reviewer

hello everyone! today i am going to be talking about the lost girls by sonia hartl. i gave this book 3/5 stars. i honestly really wished i liked this book, since it’s a queer vampire book, which i was so into and i really wish i liked it.

trigger warnings- gore, death, violence, toxic relationship, blood, murder, body horror, emotional abuse, gaslighting, injury/injury detail, torture, abandonment, physical abuse, sexual assault, sexual content, dementia, death of a parent, bullying, child death, cursing, domestic abuse, grief, misogyny, sexism, cannibalism, stalking, adult / minor relationship, animal cruelty, child abuse, drug use, kidnapping, fire, fire injury, alcohol, sexual harassment.

i think my biggest issue with this book was the writing. like, the writing of this book really was just so boring and it honestly was just so bad. like, the writing had way to much dialogue, and not enough other substance throughout the rest of the book. like i feel like there wasn’t enough parts that it was just pure action and parts that didn’t describe things, but then at the same time over explained it all. and i mean, i think it was just such a cluster fuck of a book, and i mean, i wish they all really worked it out better and had a better balance.

and i know that every version of vampires are different, and each way is up to how the author or writer wants to write them, but i feel like so much of this book was trying to make us feel bad for the vampires. which, i honestly can understand, but i feel like it was just a pity party for them for so much of this book. but, i also wish that they really did explain the way that the vampires work and what their rules or what they couldn’t do. and i mean, i think it was good, but also kind of a mess at some times.

and with both of those two ideas, i feel like so much of this book was just the same things being repeated over and over and just the same vampire crap over and over again. like, i think that when it came to talk about the vampires, they would always talk about the same things, and never brining new topics to the story and instead just brought up how they were stuck as teenagers forever. and like, i think it just got to be to much after awhile and that i wish they had it more of a plot. and that it didn’t have the same bull shit over and over, and add new ideas to the whole plot.

with this book, i also feel like that so much of this book could’ve been giving us more. like, that so much of this book was just so crazy that they had all these build up and how that they really had so much time that they could’ve given more plot or more times when they could’ve given us more plot or more things about the romance or more about the vampires. and like, another thing was they always talked about how they were ‘lost’ girls, yet they never really talked about how they were lost girls, and that it was just so many moments that could’ve had deeper connections and deeper meanings, yet there just wasn’t and it was kind of skipped.

and i think that this book did try to be funny. like, it might’ve just been because they wanted to be lighter, which i completely get, but it honestly kind of really felt out of place in this book. and i mean, i think that it was just kind of a mess, and that i mean, i think the humor was just out of place, like yeah it was just kind of cool, but it was out of place, in my opinion. like, yeah can get into the dark humor, but it just felt like it didn’t fit in this book and that they should’ve toned it down a little bit.

one thing i honestly did like was the sapphic moments in this book. granted, i could’ve done with a little more cute romantic moments, but i still really liked it. going into it, i honestly didn’t know that it was sapphic, i just read it cause i saw the fangs on the cover. but, i honestly think it was just such a cool book and that it was honestly super good. but, one thing i really didn’t care about the ending, like i feel like it was kind of a clusterfuck with the book ending, and it honestly is a big discussion topic that you could talk about, but i mean, it still was really good.

but, i also feel like the relationship went way to quick. like, i get that they’re ‘teenagers’ in love and all of that, but i really felt like that everything moved to quick. like they barely knew each other on a romantic way and they were already saying ‘ i love you’ when parker five pages was in love with the guy that turned holly. and that i feel like the chemistry between the two of them was also really rocky, like that they weren’t super interesting characters by themselves, so together they were just hella bland.

also i feel like a lot of the problems of this book were just so trivial and could’ve really been solved quickly and easily. like the whole issue with her being 16 could’ve been solved by getting fake ids and that the whole part that they can’t get an apartment could also be solved with the whole fake id thing. and that they didn’t know where he was just seem like such a mess and dragged for way to long, because we all know that he’s at the school and not gallivanting in europe.

anyway, that is all for today! i honestly had such high hopes for a queer vampire romance, but i feel like it did kind of disappoint in many different ways. but it still was kind of a solid read and i did like reading about vampires again.

hello everyone! today i am going to be talking about you’ll be the death of me by karen m. mcmanus. i gave this book 3/5 stars. honestly, this book was decent, but it felt like the same basic plot over and over, and it was just kind of lackluster, in the end.

trigger warnings- murder, drug use, death, drug abuse, adult / minor relationships, violence, child death, gun violence, blood, addiction, injury / injury detail, chronic illness, infidelity, kidnapping, gaslighting, toxic relationship, grief, death of a parent, alcohol, pedophilia, physical abuse, vomit, medical content, classism.

honestly, i think my biggest issue with mcmanus’ books, is that they’re all the same. like, yes, they have different settings and different characters, but in the end, the plot is next to the same and the overall vibe of the books are just the same thing. personally, i think that this book was kind of all of her books combined into one. and i’m not sure if it is because before i read this, i watched one of us is lying, but i feel like this book, and what i remember, have the same forced storylines and the same conflict and the same reveal and the same classism issues. and honestly, i feel like the whole YA setting is what is holding her down, cause she would be a killer adult thriller author, if she went into like different family dramas or even a book about a sorority and girls getting killed. just, something that is different from her basic high school setting and plot.

but, one thing i did really like, nonetheless, was the whole friendship and dynamic between the friends. like, with being best friends for a while and then having this fall out, i think mcmanus did a really good job with the whole strained relationship and i really liked how it all was done. in my opinion, i feel like the relationship felt rocky and you could feel the tension and the the way that it was strained. and having them be forced to work together, since so much is on line here, it was really good and i honestly really liked it and i thought it worked so well.

but, i feel like this book was really ‘tropey.’ i’m not sure that is the right word, since it’s not like fake dating or enemies to lovers or anything like that. but, i think in the recent years, and mainly in YA mystery/thriller books, they all have the same kind things happen in them. like, they always have the same things happen, with the same issues pop up, and at this point, it gets to be kind of annoying. cause like, yes they are being done in different ways, but it all starts to bleed together on which book is which, because they all have the same plot things happening. and i feel like the two biggest ones that i’ve been seeing, happened in this book and honestly made this book feel less original than it could’ve been.

another issue that i have with this book was that this book was kind of boring. like, i think the first part of this book was just so boring and honestly just didn’t like. i mean, i feel like it took way to much time to put together the story and the plot and the issues in this. and it just took forever and honestly dragged out so much. but, than the end part of this book, it honestly was really good. like, i think how they needed to make the first chuck of this book to have some sort of interesting plot throughout all of this. since, i feel like it was just honestly a drag to get through and i honestly wish they did make it better and had more of a cool plot throughout it all.

and just like a normal YA book, there is romance. which, i won’t go into to much detail about it since i don’t want to spoil anyone if they haven’t read this book yet. but, i honestly feel like the romance was just boring and lackluster. like, the romance just was boring and honestly took away from the mystery plot. like, i think that they should’ve just focused on the whole romance a bit to much and they didn’t even work in my mind. like, it was just crushes and that i think in the long run, i couldn’t really root for them because they just felt very young and naive and just didn’t make sense with the context of what they already said about these characters and these ideas about how their families work and their feuds, so i feel like i couldn’t just connect with them. and i think that there was just no chemistry or build up for the romance.

but with the whole mystery plot, i feel like the mystery wasn’t even fleshed out that well. like, i think so much of this book was just kind of unraveling these three characters lives and figuring out how their life works and their friend groups and all of that. but, i honestly one thing i wish they did was have the mystery as the central plot of this book. like, i know at its heart and core it is a mystery book, but i wish they kept that whole mystery going, instead of just the end having it be this central plot point. but, i mean, i think it would have worked better that way, since it kind of read like this coming of age kinda thing.

another thing that kind of took away from me was the emotion. like, i feel like so much of this book had zero emotion, and if it did, it was very small and not very important. like, i think it was one part of the book were one character got upset, but that was only about his mother and family. and i think that so much of this book would’ve been better if there was emotion, like either in the murder or the romance, it could’ve used this emotion in it to really drive the punch. and i think if they made the fall out more emotional it would’ve worked better for me.

anyway, that is all for today! i honestly wished i liked this book, but i feel like it was honestly kind of the same cliche and mock up of mcmanus’ other books, which was kind of discouraging, in the end.

hello everyone! today i am going to be talking about all the books i want to read in march. i honestly want to read so many, especially since i’ve been reading more books recently, i honestly hope i can get to a lot more of these and actually like them.

the viscount who loved me by julia quinn. this time, the gossip columnist have it wrong. anthony bridgerton hasn’t just decided to marry, he’s even chosen a wife. the only obstacle is his intended’s older sister, kate sharma, the most meddlesome woman ever to grace a london ballroom. the spirited schemer is driving anthony mad with her determination to stop the betrothal, but when he closes his eyes at night, kate is the woman haunting his increasingly erotic dreams. contrary to popular belief, kate is quite sure that reformed rakes do not make the best husbands, and anthony bridgerton is the most wicked rogue of them all. kate is determined to protect her sister, but she fears her own heart is vulnerable.

the final girl support group by grady hendrix. in horror movies, the final girl is the one who’s left standing when the credits roll. the one who fought back, defeated the killer, and avenged her friends. the one who emerges bloodied but victorious. but after the sirens fade and the audience moves o, what happens to her? lynnette tarkington is real life final girl who survived a massacre twenty two years ago, and it has defined every day of her life since. and she’s not along, for more than a decade she’s been meeting with five other final girls and their therapist in a support group for those who survived the unthinkable, putting their lives back together, piece by piece. that is until one of the women misses a meeting and lynnette’s worst fears are realized, someone knows about the group and is determined to take their lives apart again, piece by piece.

ace of spades by faridah abike iyimide. welcome to niveus private academy, where money paves the hallways, and the students are never less than perfect. until now because an anonymous texter, aces, is bringing two students’ dark secrets to light. talented musician devon buries himself in rehearsals, but he can’t escape the spotlight when his private photos go public. head girl, chiamaka isn’t afraid to get what she wants, but soon everyone will know the price she has paid for power.

perfect on paper by sophie gonzales. darcy phillips can give you the solution to any of your relationship woes-for a fee, uses her power for good, well most of the time, really cannot stand alexander brougham, has maybe not the best judgement when it comes to her best friend, brooke, who is in love with someone else, doesn’t appreciate being blackmailed. however, when brougham catches her in the act of collecting letters from locker 89, out of which she’s been running her questionably legal, anonymous relationship advice service, that’s exactly what happens. in exchange for keeping her secret, darcy begrudgingly agree to become his personal dating coach, at a generous hourly rate, at least. the goal, to help him win his ex girlfriend back. darcy has a good reason to keep her identity a secret. if word gets out that she’s behind the locker, some things she’s not proud of will come to light and there’s a good chance brooke will never speak to her again.

the henna wars by adiba jaigirdar. when nishat comes out to her parents, they say she can be anyone she wants, as long as she isn’t herself. because Muslim girls aren’t lesbians. nishat doesn’t want to hide who she is, but she also doesn’t want to lose her relationship with her family and her life only gets harder once a childhood friend walks back into her life. flavia is beautiful and charismatic and nishat falls for her instantly. but when a school competition invited students to create their own businesses, both flavia and nishat chooses to do henna, even though flavia is appropriating nishat’s culture. amidst sabotage and school stress, their lives get more tangled, but nishat can’t quite get rid of her crush on flavia, and realizes there might be more to her than she realized.

some girls do by jennifer dugan. morgan, an elite track athlete, is forced to transfer high schools late in her senior year after it turns out being queer is against her private catholic school’s code of conduct. there, she meets ruby, who has two hobbies: tinkering with her baby blue 1970 ford torino and competing in local beauty pageants, the latter to live out the dreams if her overbearing mother. the two are drawn to each other and can’t deny their growing feelings. but while morgan, out and proud, and determined to have a fresh start, doesn’t want to have to keep their budding relationship a secret, ruby isn’t ready to come out yet.

horrid by katrina leno. following her father’s death, jane north-robinson and her mom moved from sunny california to the dreary, dilapidated old house in maine where her mother grew up. all they want is a fresh start, but behind north manor’s doors lurks a history that leaves them feeling more alone, and more tormented. as the cold new england autumn arrives, and jane settles in to her new home, she finds solace in old books and memories of her dad. she steadily begins making new friends, but also faces bullying from the resident ‘bad seed,’ struggling to tamp down her own worst nature in response. jane’s mom also seems to be spiraling with the return of her childhood home, but she won’t reveal why. then jane discovers that the ‘storage room’ her mom has kept locked isn’t for storage at all, it’s a little girls’ bedroom, left untouched for years and not quite as empty of inhabitants as it appears.

beautiful bastards by christina lauren. whip smart, hardworking, and on her way to an MBA, chloe mills has only one problem: her boss, bennett ryan. he’s exacting, blunt, inconsiderate and completely irresistible. a beautiful bastard. bennett has returned to chicago from france to take a viral role in his family’s massive media business. he never expected that the assistant who’d been helping him from aboard was the gorgeous, innocently provocative, completely infuriating, creature he now has to see every day. despite the rumors, he’s never been one for a workplace hookup. but chloe’s so tempting he’s willing to bend the rules, or outright smash them, if it means he can have her. all over the office.

delilah green doesn’t care by ashley herring blake. delilah green swore she would never go back to bright falls, nothing is there for her but memories of a lonely childhood where she was little more than a burden to her cold and distant stepfamily. her life in in new york, with her photography career finally gaining steam an her bed never empty. sure, it’s a different woman every night, but that’s just fine with her. when delilah’s estranged stepsister, astrid, pressures her into photographing her wedding with a guilt trip and a five figure check, delilah finds herself back in the godforsaken town that she used to call home. she plans to breeze in and out, but than she sees claire sutherland, one of astrid’s stuck up besties, and decides that maybe there’s some fun, and a little retribution, to be had in bright falls. having raised her 11 year old daughter mostly on her own while dealing with her unreliable ex and running a bookstore, claire sutherland depends upon a life without surprises. and delilah green is an unwelcomed surprise, at first. though they’ve know each other for years, they don’t really know each other, so claire is unsettled when delilah figures out exactly what buttons to push.

desperate measures by katee robert. one night, her entire life went up into flames, all because of jafar. as her world burned down around her, her offered her a choice, walk away with nothing but freedom or rise to his challenge and win her fortune back. she bargained, she lost. now jafar owns her, and even as she rails against his rules, her body loves the punishment he deals out when she breaks them.

ophelia after all by racquel marie. ophelia rojas knows what she likes: her best friends, cuban food, rose gardening, and boys, way too many boys. her friends and parents make fun of her endless stream of crushes, but ophelia is a romantic at heart. she couldn’t change, even if she wanted to. so, when she finds herself thinking more about cute and quiet talia sanchez than the loss of a perfect prom with her ex boyfriend, seeds of doubt take root in ophelia’s firm image of herself. add to that impending end of high school and the fracturing her once solid friend group, things are spiraling a little out of control. but the course of love, and sexuality, never did run smooth. as her secret begins to unravel, ophelia must make a choice between clinging to the fantasy version of herself she’s always imagined or upending everyone’s expectations to rediscover who she really is.

anyway, that is all for today! i honestly can’t wait to read these and they all sound so good so like i hope i really like at least some of them.

hello everyone! today i am going to be talking about all the books i read in february. i honestly read quite a few books that month, which i’m honestly really excited to talk about, even if a lot of them are rereads, but i mean, i still really liked so many of these.

dark passage by ridley pearson. i gave this book 5/5 stars. this is my fourth reread of this book. honestly, i really loved this book so much, and i honestly really loved the story and the characters so much. but, i did forgot about how sad this book is, like i knew it was the saddest book in the series, but it was far worst then i thought. but, i do wish we got to see more amanda and jess throughout the book.

unforeseen by ridley pearson. i gave this book 4/5 stars. i did like this book, but i feel like this book was just kind of underwhelming and i just didn’t think that this book was super important. like, i did like what it brought to the table, but at the same time i feel like it was just unneeded and that it was overall kind of confusing, especially since i feel like there was just so many plot holes.

kingdom of the wicked by kerri maniscalo. i gave this book 5/5 stars. this was my second read of this book. i honestly liked this book, and like i did enjoy these characters and reading this story, but at the same time it was kind of confusing, especially with the whole magic system and how it all worked. but, i still really liked this book and honestly it was really good.

verity by colleen hoover. i gave this book 5/5 stars. i honestly loved this book so much, which i feel like it weird to say since it was just such a gross and disturbing book, but i honestly loved it so much. granted, i do think some of the romance was random and kind of weird, but i still really loved it and i honestly was so into this book that i read it all in one night.

lock every door by riley sager. i gave this book 4/5 stars. i honestly liked this book, and i think that the mystery of this book was kind of cool, but i do wish that they had more mystery throughout the book, and not just the ending. but, i honestly think that it was just such a cool and interesting plot line. but, it was just a little to weird for me, and just didn’t make a lot of sense to me throughout some of it.

counting down with you by tashie bhuiyan. i gave this book 3/5 stars. this was a good book, and i honestly didn’t expect this book to be this all amazing YA book, and like the best book i’ve ever read, but was just kind of underwhelming, especially with the romance. and like i also think that this book had way to much family drama, which i also think took away from the romance, and like i think so much of the romance was already kind of sidelined, but than with the family drama just took even more time away.

heartstoppers volume 3 by alice oseman. i gave this book 5/5 stars. this was my second read of the book. but, i honestly don’t have to much to say about this book, like i do think that so much of this book was just so cute and i honestly really loved this book and the relationship.

while we were dating by jasmine guillory. i gave this book 3/5 stars. this by no means was a bad book, but i honestly think that this was kind of all over the place. like, i really didn’t get the romance and it was just kind of a mess and the chemistry was just kind of off to me. and again, i think some of the characters were just annoying and that it just didn’t work for me, especially with the romance.

the insider by ridley pearson. i gave this book 5/5 stars. this was my fourth reread of this book. this book was honestly so good and i honestly really loved it so much. like, i think that this was just such a good and emotional read, and that i think that this book just packed so much of the punch. and i mean, i think so much of this book just worked and clicked with me. but, i do think that this book was just a tab bit to long, and i think they really could have cut it down a little bit.

the lost girls by sonia hartl. i gave this book 3/5 stars. honestly, i was so excited to read a book about gay vampires, but i think that so much of this book was just a mess. like there was just so many rules about vampires that i think were just kind of thrown together haphazardly, and that it was just a mess. like it was a good book, but i feel like that there was just so many issues and it was boring as all hell.

full flight by ashley schumacher. i gave this book 2/5 stars. i honestly wished i liked this book more. like, i think that this was just a mess and that so much of it was just so confusing and just had that whole teenage love thing, like they fall so hard and fast, but it just wasn’t real love. and i just think that so much of this book was so boring.

barbarian lovers by ruby dixon. i gave this book 2/5 stars. i honestly liked this book since i feel like it did have some actual plot, which was a nice surprise in this book / series. but, i honestly don’t have to much to say since it was just such another book in the series.

ice planet honeymoon: aehako and kira by ruby dixon. i gave this book 2/5 stars. again i don’t have to much to say about this book, since i feel like it was just another mediocre book. but, i honestly think that this book was cute and i did like it and that i think the whole plot with the baby was cute and i honestly did like it.

autoboyography by christina lauren. i gave this book 3/5 stars. i honestly id like this book, but i feel like some of this book was just so boring, like i think that some of it was just kind of boring. but, i did like to read about the religion, even if it did get to be kind of annoying and that i did want to slap a couple people at some times of this book. but, i feel like it still was a really cool book to read and i did like it.

let’s call it doomsday by katie henry. i gave this book 3/5 stars. i’m kind of on the fence about this book. like, i do think that this was a really good book and i did like the plot and the story and the message that it was trying to get across, but i still think that so much of this book just got to be a bit to much and that i just didn’t get into it at some parts.

anyway, that is all for today! i honestly read so many good books this month and i did honestly liked it a lot and i honestly think so many of these were just such good reads and i honestly hope march is as good as this month was.

hello everyone! today i am going to be talking about the girls are never gone by sarah glenn marsh. i gave this book 3/5 stars. i honestly didn’t like this book, mainly cause it made literally zero sense and was just so unbelievable.

trigger warnings- death, vomit, child death, animal death, medical content, death of a parent, body horror, murder, chronic illness, gore, violence, blood, mental illness, toxic relationship, grief, stalking, toxic friendship, injury/injury detail.

one of the few things i actually liked was the love for the old horror/paranormal vibe that it got to it. like, i think it was honestly super cool to see how this book kind of brought all those tropes and vibes from it and that it kind of took it all and put in it one book. like, i actually think it was cool to kind of have this love letter to the old horror movies.

another thing that i really liked was how dare, the main character, had type 1 diabetes. like for one, i feel like YA books never talk about diabetes, and if they do it’s like an older lady, so i think it was cool that it was a younger character. but, i also think that so many characters in horror or thrillers are always these perfect characters, health wise, so i honestly think it is so cool to have this as a small plot point in this book. and also cause i feel like this book also kind of plot in here that did open conversation about it, and i honestly really liked it.

but, one thing i didn’t like was the romance. like i was super excited to see a queer romance in the center of a horror book. like, i was honestly so excited to see that and i really wanted to actually like this romance and that i think it had so much potential to have this great spooky romance. but, i feel like the romance was just so flat and that there wasn’t even real development and all these plots that were brought up in this relationship plot, but than it was all just such a mess.

another thing that was kind of a mess was how that there was like really plot about the actual podcast. like, i think they made this whole podcast to be such a big plot, yet they never really gave to much of it, and that it just didn’t make sense in the end. like, this was just something that they used, but they never actually explained or went into detail with. like they could have made this be this really cool aspect of this all, but in the end it was barely used, and when it was, it was still half assed.

again, i also think that so much of this book was left unexplained. like, i think that this whole book really revolved about this whole ghost story, and they really tried to do this, but they never brought it into the plot. like, i think that they kept hyping up these ghost plots and bringing it all happen, but they never really explained the death. like, i think the plot and the ghosts just didn’t make sense, like i they would bring up these small little plot points, but than eventually just drop it and forgot. and like they brought up so many different ghosts, that it just didn’t make sense and that they did to much into this book, that when you were listening to it, it was just kind of a mess.

also, i think so much of this book had so much detail in it. like, i think that there is a fine line where they have a good amount of detail, not enough detail, and than way to much detail. personally, i think this book fell under the two much detail category, since like they would describe everything. like, they would go into so much detail about the lake and what the different things looked like, yet they never went into detail with something that actually mattered, like the ghosts, and i feel like it was just such a mess and that it wasn’t good at all.

and i also think that so much of this book was just so slow. like, i think that so much of this book was just so slow, and that so much of this book took forever to get going, like they spent way to much time talking about dare’s ex boyfriend and all these random other things, like how so and so didn’t like someone or the house repairs, like so much detail that it was next to unbearable to actually get into. and like i think so much of the book was this way, where they just added so much unneeded drama and stuff that wasn’t even about the ghosts, but than when they actually get into the ghost part it is just so boring.

for the characters, dare annoyed the hell out of me. like, i think so much of this book was just her going on and on and on about the most trivial things in the world, and half of it just didn’t make any sense in the end. and like her inner dialogue was just so dumb, cause half of it she was just freaking out over the stupidest things, and the other half she was just hot for the girl that she was crushing with. and also all the talk about her diabetes got to be annoying. like yes, i did like the rep for it, but like even in the action scene she was in, she kept bringing it up again and again. like, in my opinion, it really just took away from the scene and the action. and also, what kind of name is waffles? like that is literally such a terrible name for a dog.

anyway, that is all for today! i honestly wished i liked this book, since i think that it could have been such a great plot and had so much done for it, yet it was just lackluster and honestly really boring.

hello everyone! today i am going to be talking about full flight by ashley schumacher. i gave this book 2/5 stars. first off, thank you so much netgalley, the publisher, and wednesday books for an arc of this book! and also happy pub date for an arc of this book. like always, this is an honest review, and isn’t going to be changed by the author or the publisher, and all thoughts are my own.

trigger warnings- grief, bullying, child death, death, car accident, cursing, bullying.

honestly, i think one of the things that really annoyed me was the way that anna’s and weston’s relationship. like, for so much of them they really feel in love in a matter of three days, like it was just so annoying how they just met and they kissed maybe like one time and than decided that they loved each other, when they had no emotional connection or literally anything in the relationship, besides how they both are in band. and like it was just so annoying how their relationship progressed, but i mean i guess they are in high school so they’re dumb as shit when it comes to relationships.

with the grief aspect of this, i didn’t like it. like i do appreciate how they did write the whole part of this book, but i feel like it didn’t just fit in with the story. like, i think it was just kind of boring and i think that so much of this felt kind of off compared to everything, and that it just didn’t work for me. like, i do think that it did have decent parts, and that it was cool to see how all the different characters got affected by it, but other than that, i think it didn’t really work out. plus, i think the emotions of some of these characters just didn’t have enough emotion as a character might have, especially anna.

but, one thing i really didn’t like was how the band crap was talked about. like, i think so much of this book literally didn’t make sense, and like they went into to much detail about all the band and how they play their instruments. and like being frank, literally nobody is going to read this book for the band stuff and the band stuff alone. like, yeah you might like band or be in band, but you are not going into this book just to read the band stuff. so, like i think the whole band details didn’t make sense to someone that isn’t in band. and honestly probably should have just been cut. and like i really didn’t understand all the urgency for the band and how they needed to do everything so quickly and so soon, like it’s literally just band, calm the fuck down.

for the characters, i think anna was just super annoying. like, i do think so much of it was just to much, and i think she just got to be on my nerves after awhile. like, i feel like all she did was complain about band and her family and how she can’t do anything right, which was this never ending circle. with the whole band thing, i honestly have no clue how she even got into band and didn’t get cut or something yet cause literally this whole book was just talking about how she doesn’t know how to do anything related to playing her instrument, and like she would complain about not knowing, but not do anything by herself to fix it, which was just annoying. and i also think that they tried way to hard to make her not like other main characters, that they had her like christmas in like september, and all of this, that it really didn’t make sense and follow.

with her family, i think that they were super annoying. like, i can understand what her parents were saying at certain points, and it generally made sense with some of their actions. but, they were also like complete helicopter parents, which just to be on my nerves after awhile. like, i get being protective over your teenage daughter, especially when she lied to you for a while, but other times their actions just didn’t make sense. and like they just jumped to conclusion after conclusion which was just so annoying. and for her sister, i really didn’t like her cause half of the time she acted like a whiny toddler and than the other time she acted like a full ass adult, which was like once, when she was really like 12.

then for weston, i feel like he was a ghost in his own story. like all we know about him is a few small things about his family, that in the grand scheme of things literally mean nothing to me, and that he’s this apparent ‘bad boy.’ like, he doesn’t even give a reason for his ‘bad boy’ status, its literally that he wears a leather jacket or some shit. and like also the whole thing about switching schools was also kind of a mess, since like it all might have been because he wrecked a tree?? like they didn’t even go into detail about it, just that he knocked over some small ass tree and the whole town had a heart attack over.

and this might just be because we already knows that someone is going to die, and it’s not even a hidden fact, but i feel with that it took so much away from the story. like i’m all find with tragic love stories like the fault in our stars, but i feel like this would have been such a better love story if they didn’t put it in the description that he dies. like, i think that took away some of the emotional punch and that you couldn’t really get invested in him / his plot line cause we already knew what was going to happen.

then kind of overall for both anna and weston, i feel like they both were kind of a mess. like, they really didn’t have depth or anything, just two characters that don’t necessarily fit in with how society views teenagers, and that’s it. like, i think so much of them is just left unexplained and that their character development was non existent for so much of this book. and like i also think that this whole book had some riverdale feel to it, since it’s just boring ass teenagers doing boring ass stuff in a small town.

anyway, that is all for today! thank you so much wednesday books, the author and netgalley for an arc of this book! like always, this was a honest review and wasn’t changed by the anyone.

hello everyone! today i am going to be talking about you’ve reached sam by dustin thao. i gave this book 4/5 stars. and for this review, i had an arc of it, even if this review is like months late. but, thank you so much to the publisher and the author for a copy of this book! this is an honest review and isn’t going to be changed by anyone else.

trigger warnings- grief, death, car accident, child death, bullying, racism, hate crime, alcohol, sexual harassment, violence, toxic friendship, mental illness.

i think my biggest issue with this book was the characters. like, i think that a lot of them were just so surface level, which i didn’t really like. and i mean, i think with so many of them i really connect with on a deep level. like, the only thing i really felt for them was that i was sorry, like i felt bad that they went through all of this and that it sucks to go threw it. like, i don’t think that they were bad characters, but i feel like that it was just a lot.

with that, i feel like that i think that there was just so much grief and so much trauma between them, that a lot of other things about them just feel short. like, there was just so much going on in their life, that you didn’t really get to much of their personalities and things that they liked. which, in a story like this, i don’t necessarily think is important, but i wish we just got a little insight on the two of them and that we got to see a glimpse of them inside of all the grief that they are going through.

but, i also think that so much of this book is that thao is trying to make us upset that sam died, and that we were supposed to feel this great amount of pain for him. where like yeah i was sad that this kid died, but we didn’t have any happy moments or anything to make us sad that he died. like, we were just sad because we were told to feel sad and more sad for julie. so, i honestly wished that we got to see some flashbacks, like every couple of chapters is a flashback for their relationship, since most of this book was just a dead guy talking to her.

with the phone calls though, i did like it. like i think that it did get the right message across with like, what if you could call your dead loved one and what would you say to them kinda vibe. but, i feel like was it was nice to read, it literally didn’t make sense on how this could happen. like, yeah i know its a book and that you are going to have to suspend your belief for this. but, i feel like they should have had sam explain on how he can call and talk to julie whenever she calls him, since they never really explained it, which was annoying. and i wish they just went into more detail with that.

again with the whole phone call, it honestly annoyed the hell out of me that sam would say “i’m giving you closure” but than throughout this he was not giving her any closure, since she could just call him whenever she wanted to, or i guess within reason for the end of the book. and i honestly wish that they worked it out a little bit more, since i think what they were trying to do just had the opposite effect through some of it.

but, with the actual plot of this book, i honestly really liked the plot. like, i do think that it was really good and i really loved seeing the plot unfold and to see it all happen. but, i do feel like that there was some issues here and there, but it was honestly still really good. and i mean, it still was super cool to kind of see this, even if the call system was a tad confusing. but, i mean, the whole plot was honestly really well done, and it was super good.

and with this book, i feel like a lot of this book had so much emotion in here. like, i think it was so good and i honestly really loved it. like, i think with the writing style and with it all, they had so much feelings and emotions in here. which, was something i really loved and i really liked seeing this all happen was just so heartbreaking and i think that the author did such a good job with adding all this emotion into it all. which, i do think was so good and i think it just added a whole other layer to this all.

kind of going back to my issue with julie, was that i feel like she was just kind of annoying. like, i think so much of this book was just julie running all over people, and being an absolute asshole to everyone else in her life. like, i guess that so much of this book was just her being selfish and being rude to everyone. and i think the part that annoyed me the most was how she was just so rude to people that were trying to help her and help her get through the grief and trauma, and just trying to make her left better, she was still such a dick to everyone.

and i think another thing that really annoyed me with the characters, was that literally everyone moved on so quick. like sam died about a week ago, and people were already telling her to move on and that she needs to go back to school cause she was taking to much time off. and also like a week after sam died she just like threw everything out, and then acted like it was fine and normal, and he’s barely been dead, yet she’s moving on so quick. especially when it came to getting another boyfriend, it was a matter of weeks and they just did it and didn’t even bat an eye.

anyway, that is all for today! first off, thank you so much wednesday books, the author and netgalley for an arc of this book! like i already said, this was an honest and wasn’t changed by the author or the publisher.

hello everyone! today i am going to be talking about our violent ends by chloe gong. i gave this book 5/5 stars. this book was honestly so good, which i did expect, so it wasn’t to much of a shocked. but, i feel like some of this book was confusing, since so much was happening in such a little amount of time. and there will be spoilers for book one in this review, so beware.

trigger warnings- gun violence, death, violence, blood, gore, murder, war, grief, injury/injury detail, fire/fire injury, mass shootings, colonization, genocide, kidnapping, body horror, suicidal thoughts, torture, racism, police brutality, suicide attempt, hate crime, suicide, classism, emotional abuse, medical content, death of a parent, gaslighting, child abuse, child death, cursing, misogyny, physical abuse, self harm, alcohol, homophobia, sexism.

honestly, i was kind of scared to go into this book, since for one this is a romeo and juliet retelling, so we all know that it isn’t going to end well, but also that i read these violent delights and the first time i read that book, i honestly didn’t like it. so, i was kind of scared that if i went into this book i would hate it, even if i read book 1 before i read this book, and honestly loved it the second point. but, i feel like gong literally hit this book on the head since it was just so good and well done. like, i honestly loved that it really pulled you in from page one and i think it was just so cool and that it was honestly so amazing.

and like i think that with this whole betrayal trope, which really kind of came into limelight in book 1, but it was fleshed out in this book. but, i feel like this trope was done so well and that it was just so good since i think it was really well done. like i feel like how they talked about everything and how they fleshed this all out, was so good. like, i feel like you really understood the motives of all the characters, mainly roma and juliette, with how this betrayal went all threw. and like, i feel like it was just so good, and i honestly want to read more books with this trope, since this was really good.

but, i also really liked that in this book, or mainly the plot, that they kind of took these characters and kind of the basic plot format of that book, yet completely changed it. like i said, there is that basic foundation of shakespeare, and had the same characters, but still made it new and fresh, and made it honestly better. and like i think that it was so cool and that gong really made it work with it all, especially with the whole plot and the characters, which seems like such a big task, but it was done so well at the same time.

and another thing that i think really fueled this story was that this book was the writing. like, i think the writing style of this book was just so good and i honestly loved it. like, i think she was so good with having characters that pushed the plot, but also enough action, that really drove this to happen. for me, like i really liked seeing how this all worked together, and that we got to see all of this happening and getting to see the plot get pushed, and especially the action scenes that i think really were beautiful, even if there was a ton of gunfire and gore. but, the writing really worked, especially since she could write the gore and the painfulness, but in a very beautiful and lyrical way.

another thing that i really liked, and especially with this plot that got set up, was that we didn’t just have roma and juliette’s pov for everything. like i think a lot of authors are scared to dive into side characters plots, and give side characters their own pov, especially in a historical fantasy book like this. so, i think that it was just so cool to see how they gave rosalind, and kathleen and tyler and ben, and alisa have their own pov for a little bit. since i also think that if they didn’t give them these little moments in their own pov, it wouldn’t have worked as well if roma and juliette just said everything, so getting them tell their own story was honestly super nice.

but, i also feel like the romances in this book were so good. like, of course we have roma and juliette in the forefront of this, but just seeing the other characters have their own romance was so cute, and i honestly hope they get their own spin off or something, since i loved them so much. but, i honestly think that gong did such a great job with fleshing everything out and giving them both enough motivation and passion to drive this romance. plus, i think the whole forbidden romance was so good and i honestly really liked it, and it was done go amazing.

i think my biggest complaint in this book, and it might just be me. but i feel like the ending of this book was way to quick. like i feel like the last couple chapters were such a mess, since they were trying to cram so much in these short amount of pages left, especially with all the action and drama that took place. and like it might just be because the timeline of this book is so short, and they need to get so much done in such a short window, but i honestly feel like so much was happening and in not enough pages that it didn’t make sense, and that i couldn’t really connect with what was happening, since so much was going on. and it honestly just felt like mass chaos for some of it.

anyway, that is all for today! i honestly really liked this book, and i think that this was such a great read and i can’t read to read the next series she’s putting out, even if the cover is pretty ugly. but, i’m sorry if this review made zero sense, since i feel like all my thoughts for this book were going in every different direction, since so much was happening here.

hello everyone! today i am going to be talking about when we were infinite by kelly loy gilbert. i gave this book 3/5 stars. i honestly wished i liked this book more, but i feel like this book had way to much happening and way to much drama that i honestly didn’t like.

trigger warnings- panic attacks / disorder, child abuse, suicide attempt, mental illness, suicidal thoughts, domestic abuse, suicide, abandonment, physical abuse, violence, grief, cursing, emotional abuse, racism, sexism, toxic relationship, toxic friendship.

honestly, going into this book i had no clue what it was actually about. like, i kind of knew the premise of this book, and like what the conflict was going to be, but like i didn’t expect it to be like this. like, i feel like there was just so much in this book that was like mentally draining, and it honestly took me way longer to listen to this book than a YA contemporary should probably take me read/listen too.

with that, i do feel like the topics covered in this book was honestly handled pretty well. like i think in a lot of books, especially YA books, the author always bites down more than they can chew, so they bring up all of these important topics, but than they can never handle those topics they choose to write about well enough, and that a lot of them all started to get to the sidelines. where, i feel like they did bring up important topics, like the suicide and the child abuse, and they made that be a central plot, and they never pushed those topics and discussions aside to have some sort of romance or some plot that the book could honestly do without.

another thing i did like was reading about the friendship in this book. like i feel like a lot of the friendships in this book was so good and i liked seeing them all interacting and seeing them all figure out the way they fit in the world and in the friendships. like, i did like seeing how they all interacted and to figure out how they work in the group and what they need to do when this all happened, like i think that it was kind of cool to see how they all worked together and tried to lean on each other in this time of grief.

but, one thing with the friend group i didn’t really like was how they interacted with beth, post suicide and when her and jason got together. like, i feel that they honestly just started treating her like a bitch, and when she was voicing her concern about jason, especially seeing that jason did have his attempt, and whenever she was scared because he wouldn’t answer the phone or like he didn’t come to school that day with any heads up, and than everyone would call her dramatic, which just got on my nerves because like she’s concerned for a guy, for a valid reason, yet your just turning her down and acting like she’s the bad guy in the whole situation.

again with the friend group, i honestly think they were kind of toxic. like, i think that before the attempt they were a very good and honestly a friend group that people want to have. but as soon has the attempt happened, i feel like they were borderline toxic. like i already said, there were just so many moments were all they did was fight and get on each others nerves and that they really were just so rude and mean to each other. and i mean, i definitely think that they could have made this so much less toxic, if they didn’t attack each other with their feelings towards the attempt and how they were coping with that, like i think that they could’ve not had it been so toxic and just to be able to help each other threw it, and not attack each other.

then for beth and jason’s relationship, i honestly wasn’t the biggest fan of them together as boyfriend/girlfriend. like, i think when they were together they just were so toxic, and like every other word out of their mouth to each other was just hella toxic, and i honestly didn’t like it. like, all they did was fight and honestly didn’t work, since i think they had such a good foundation based off being friends and all this history, that it didn’t work and that i think it just didn’t work. and plus, i think that there were so many secrets there, so i honestly didn’t like them together whatsoever.

as for beth as a main character, i honestly didn’t like her at all. like i think being stuck in her head for some 300+ page book was just so boring and mind numbing to hear her talk about everything. i mean, i feel like half of her reactions to things were literally just like ‘what the hell’ and then proceeds to fuck to things up and honestly makes a mess of things that aren’t even to be a mess to being with. and i mean that there were just so many things in this book that she could just not fuck up, and than she goes to fuck it all up. and also that there were a couple ways that she just was so mean to everyone, that i honestly hated.

another thing about beth was how she treated her mother. like, once she found out her father paid child support to her mom, she went all ape shit crazy on her mom, like even when her mom explained everything and like she told beth everything to her, and yet beth still dragged it all around and was still such a bitch to her mom, which was just so annoying. and even then, there was so many moments that she would act like her dad is such an amazing guy, when he was this big asshole, and then when her mom, the good guy, did something that was small and easy, then she would blew up all over her, over the stupidest thing. and honestly, after awhile that was just so annoying and got on my nerves,

anyway, that is all for today! i honestly wished i liked this book more, since it just sounds like such a good book, so not really liking it was just so disappointing. and i mean, i think it could’ve been better, but the message that it did try to get across was a good thing.