candace chen hardly notices when shen fever sweeps across new york. when the fever continues to spread and families begin to flee, s2024 reads: 38/250
candace chen hardly notices when shen fever sweeps across new york. when the fever continues to spread and families begin to flee, she finds herself alone, and begins to blog the abandoned city. a group of survivors finds her, but soon she wonders if she needs to escape from her rescuers.
first, i think it’s incredible that this book was written pre-pandemic. there were so many similarities between shen fever and its effects and covid-19. the apocalyptic aspect was even a bit like what happened in real life, with people kind of being mindless and stuck in their routines (at least, in the later/more recent parts of the pandemic).
something else i enjoyed was how easily i felt i was in the world of this book. we get the present story as well as moments from the past, including background on candace’s parents, who immigrated from china to the united states when candace was young.
overall, i enjoyed this book, and i’ll be reading more from ling ma in the future....more
evie sage needs to support her ailing family, which leads her to finding employment with the villain. it’s hard enough working whil2023 reads: 384/350
evie sage needs to support her ailing family, which leads her to finding employment with the villain. it’s hard enough working while surrounded by dismembered body parts, harder still when she finds herself crushing on the villain and trying to find whoever’s trying to take him down at the same time.
i really didn’t go into this book with any expectations besides knowing it was supposed to be funny. honestly, i didn’t find it as funny as i was expecting, but i still did enjoy it for its other aspects. i love a good fantasy/mystery crossover so i liked how these elements were blended together in this book. i also enjoyed the slowburn romance between evie and the villain and can’t wait to see it unfold even more in book two!...more
joy has been secretly in love with her best friend malcolm for years. but when malcolm plans a camping trip to ask out summer, joy 2023 reads: 208/350
joy has been secretly in love with her best friend malcolm for years. but when malcolm plans a camping trip to ask out summer, joy takes it as the last chance to let him know her feelings. summer’s friend fox is also on the trip, and proposes a fake dating scheme to try to prevent malcolm and summer from getting serious.
this is another case of me reading a book’s synopsis, deciding it seems like something i’d enjoy and putting it on my tbr, forgetting the synopsis before i actually get around to reading it, then being surprised when something that was literally in the synopsis happens in the book. all that to say, i had no idea that this book had fake dating going into it, but that was a very pleasant surprise since i love that trope! starting off their fake relationship, joy is in love with malcolm, and though fox used to date summer, he’s not really in love with anyone, he just doesn’t want summer with malcolm. i thought the moments between them were so cute and i loved how fox, grumpy and uncommunicative, begins opening up to joy.
i loved the ace representation in this book. the isolation that ace people can experience is shown throughout the novel. joy starts off believing that, for her, it’s malcolm or nobody. she doesn’t think anyone else will understand her as well, since malcolm is black and ace like her. the book also talks about various misconceptions people have about asexuality, such as being sex-repulsed, not flirtatious, not wanting to show off your body, etc. both joy and malcolm are ace, but do not experience attraction the exact same. i thought this topic was handled very well.
i highly recommend this book to any adult romance reader, especially those wanting to read about an asexual mc....more
when nikki takes a job as a writing teacher to sikh widows, she expects to be teaching them creative writing strate2023 reads: 137/350
2023 tbr: 37/100
when nikki takes a job as a writing teacher to sikh widows, she expects to be teaching them creative writing strategies, not the alphabet. but she soon realizes that these women have stories to tell…and not the kind you’d expect.
i thought the premise (and, of course, title) of this sounded interesting so i was excited to dive in! i don’t read very many books with older protagonists, and while this story didn’t have any viewpoints from the widows, i would still say it centered a lot on them. i also enjoyed the stories from the widows, not only the titular ones but just their own life experiences, and how this was tied to themes of women’s liberation....more
although jane doesn’t want to be married, she realizes a marriage of convenience is the best option for her so she can live independent and do meaningalthough jane doesn’t want to be married, she realizes a marriage of convenience is the best option for her so she can live independent and do meaningful work, and so she marries augustine lawrence, a reclusive doctor. the only condition is she must live in his family manor, which sounds easy enough, but she soon finds out the house isn’t so friendly…
i normally don’t get along with gothic fiction (the writing style isn’t for me), but my book club decided on this book and i’m glad i picked it up! this book was really spooky and, although it’s not autumn yet, it started to put me in the mood for halloween time. i also really enjoyed our main character.
this is a spin-off of the these violent delights duology and should therefore be read after that duology.
four years ago, rosalind la2023 reads: 47/350
this is a spin-off of the these violent delights duology and should therefore be read after that duology.
four years ago, rosalind lang was brought back from the brink of death. four years ago, rosalind lang stopped aging and became invincible. now, she’s using this ability to work as an assassin for her country. but then, murders start happening in shanghai, and she must team up with orion hong and pretend to be his wife to find out what’s happening.
as it’s been a while since i read the previous duology, i had forgotten quite a bit about chloe gong’s writing. i forgot how lovely it is and how it can be humorous even in serious moments. i put off reading this book for a while first because i was hoping my library would get the audiobook (this never happened lol) and second because i barely remembered any of the plot from tvd/ove so i wasn’t sure what to expect from this, but this was the botm pick for my book club and i’m so glad it was! i loved the plot and the relationships within this book and i’m so excited for the next one....more
content warnings (some mentioned in review): domestic abuse, gaslighting
in this memoir, the author details her abusive same-sex relationship. the lovecontent warnings (some mentioned in review): domestic abuse, gaslighting
in this memoir, the author details her abusive same-sex relationship. the lovely prose is a stark contrast to the ugly topic at hand. i really loved this book and i’d recommend to people who are comfortable reading about the topic....more
duchess is so close to signing a deal that will make her one of the richest women in hip hop, but a misunderstandin2023 reads: 161/350
2023 tbr: 39/100
duchess is so close to signing a deal that will make her one of the richest women in hip hop, but a misunderstanding tarnishes her image and unfairly messes with this deal. when she gets an offer to perform at a tribute concert for the queen’s late husband, she decides to take it, figuring she’ll get good publicity out of it. what she’s not expecting, though, is to fall for the queen’s grandson, who invited her to the concert…
first i just want to say that dual pov romances will always be famous...more
already an outsider, immanuelle does her best to blend in by following the rules. but after witches lure her into the forbidden darkwood and give immaalready an outsider, immanuelle does her best to blend in by following the rules. but after witches lure her into the forbidden darkwood and give immanuelle her deceased mother’s journal, things start to go downhill for her.
not gonna lie, the last book i read set in a puritanical society was the crucible in high school. (i’m now in my third year of college.) still, even though i clearly don’t read books like this often, this made me pretty curious to seek out more!
there were some pretty gruesome parts, and though the horror genre does sometimes contain gruesome events, the one in this book i’m thinking of (the birth scene) isn’t typical really in any book, even a horror one. so, i suggest looking up the content warnings before reading this book just in case! the gruesome parts didn’t bother me that badly but not a lot of things do so i’m not the best person to ask.
i recommend this to anyone interested in a historical horror read that includes the horrors of the real world....more
this book is inspired by the civilizations within the pre-columbian americas. it follows our two main characters: serapio, a young boy on the journey this book is inspired by the civilizations within the pre-columbian americas. it follows our two main characters: serapio, a young boy on the journey to become a crow god, and xiala, a pirate with magical powers. we’re also introduced to some characters i suspect will have a larger role later in the trilogy.
i loved the worldbuilding in this book! it was really unique and i’m super interested in this world. i also loved the characters and i’m excited to learn more about them in the next books!
kokoro hasn’t been able to go to school recently, so she’s been spending her days in her room. then, her mirror begins to glow, and2023 reads: 160/350
kokoro hasn’t been able to go to school recently, so she’s been spending her days in her room. then, her mirror begins to glow, and she realizes she can step through it and enter another world. there, she meets six other students, and they’re told that they can explore the castle to find a hidden room that will grant them a wish.
it’s always refreshing when you read a popular book and feel like it lived up to its hype. i loved how this book followed seven outcasts and how they found company with each other. i also enjoyed all the plot twists that happened. i predicted one but then it turned out there was a different plot twist on top of that (not sure how to explain it without spoiling lol), so i don’t think it really counted anyway.
marigold’s newly-blended family is moving from california to the midwest for a fresh start. while marigold is getting used to sharing a room with her bratty younger stepsister, she battles a drug addiction (and her own past), tries to make new friends, and learns more and more about the town. soon, she finds out about the talk surrounding her house and starts to question her own eyes and memory.
this is the third book i’ve read by tiffany d. jackson, and so far, she has not disappointed. i really need to keep working through her backlist because i know those will be just as great.
i really appreciated how everything was handled. as i mentioned earlier, marigold is battling a drug addiction which is a prominent part of the story. while she tells herself she’s done with the harder drugs, she is desperate for weed to ease her anxiety. (so desperate that she starts growing her own in an abandoned house.) i think it’s important to make characters with drug addictions multifaceted. having an addiction doesn’t make a person evil, but sometimes when your thoughts are impaired you don’t act like yourself or make good decisions. this was shown through marigold’s thoughts and actions. however, she did have good thoughts and actions too (especially with some things she did at the end), which is what i’m grateful for.
i also appreciated how marigold had a lot of self-reflection. for example, she starts the book unable to stand piper, her younger stepsister. however, as the book goes on, she starts to realize that piper is just a little girl who has been hurt in the past and is dealing with her own issues. i loved how this was explored, especially because this isn’t something i see a lot.
overall, i highly recommend this book to anyone who wants a spooky read and is okay with the content....more
cw: suicide (prior to story), bullying, toxic relationship, parent abandonment, suicidal ideation, mention of abortion, miscarriage, sexual harassmentcw: suicide (prior to story), bullying, toxic relationship, parent abandonment, suicidal ideation, mention of abortion, miscarriage, sexual harassment & assault
years ago, henry was abducted by aliens. now, they’re giving him a chance to prevent the apocalypse with one simple push of a button…
henry’s life isn’t the best. he recently lost his boyfriend to suicide, a shock to everyone, and the bullying at school keeps getting worse.
the aliens (“sluggers,” he calls them) have been abducting him for years and he has no idea why. nobody believes him, though, and he’s sure it’s what drove his dad to leave. but now, the sluggers are giving henry a task: all he has to do is push a button, and he’ll save the world from ending, at least for now.
i love henry’s progression throughout the book. he continuously teeters between pressing the button or not—and then he berates himself for not knowing what to do. after all, shouldn’t it be easy to simply push a button and know that the world will keep going? but henry’s not sure he wants the world to keep existing. he’s bullied horrifically, his boyfriend committed suicide, his brother and brother’s girlfriend will soon bring a baby into this world even though they’re unprepared, his mom hates her life and makes very little money at a job she hates, and his dad, well…who knows where his dad is? surely no future at all would be better than their present. but still, everyone he asks says they’d push the button, even though henry knows each of them have their own reasons not to.
this book was pretty easy to get into and once i did, i didn’t want to stop reading. i don’t often read books with narration like henry’s. his stream of consciousness was…well, you could tell it belonged to a teenage boy, which is different than i’m used to. i don’t think i’ve ever read a YA book with this many references to genitalia and sex...more
Honestly, I wasn’t interested enough to get through it quickly until over halfway when romance became present. The story was a bit predictable and reaHonestly, I wasn’t interested enough to get through it quickly until over halfway when romance became present. The story was a bit predictable and really slow-paced, but the romance and the ending made up for it....more
This started off as a good book, but as it went on it lost its allure. With every “new” girl introduced, it became more and more repetitive. However, This started off as a good book, but as it went on it lost its allure. With every “new” girl introduced, it became more and more repetitive. However, it did become better at about 80%, which definitely helped its case!...more
music journalist s. sunny shelton has idolized rock stars opal jewel and nev charles her whole life. when it arises, she seizes the opportunity to 4.5
music journalist s. sunny shelton has idolized rock stars opal jewel and nev charles her whole life. when it arises, she seizes the opportunity to write a book capturing the points of view of opal, nev, and people close to them about the duo’s rise and eventual fall. as she digs deeper, sunny uncovers never-told-before secrets, one of which might hit a little too close to home.
i’ve been wanting to read this since before it even came out, and i’m so glad i finally got to it thanks to the book club i recently joined!
though this book is primarily about opal and nev (opal more so than nev, but still), this still also gives details of the “author’s” life, which was nice since she had a personal connection to opal and nev’s story.
another aspect of this book i really liked is how it discussed the intersection of race and music. rock and roll could not have existed without black musicians, and this book gives credit where it’s due while also calling out racism in the music industry and in the rest of the world, both back then and today.
i also enjoyed the formatting of the book. this was primarily told through interviews, though there were some “editor’s notes” where sunny talked about what was happening in her life. the interview format made it feel like these characters were real people, while still adding footnotes to explain who these people were (i really appreciated those footnotes).
Roger and Dodger are twins with a supernatural connection, but they’re trying to be normal kids. This is problematic for Reed, the alchemist who creatRoger and Dodger are twins with a supernatural connection, but they’re trying to be normal kids. This is problematic for Reed, the alchemist who created them with plans to make them gods.
This book can be hard to get into due to the slow/medium pacing and disjointed timeline. However, I think this was a good choice on McGuire’s part. This was a very clever book that not every author would be able to write....more
a cool mix of historical fiction with fantasy elements! i recommend for people who love the regency era but don’t want to get through difficult languaa cool mix of historical fiction with fantasy elements! i recommend for people who love the regency era but don’t want to get through difficult language and could do without the romantic elements normally present in regency-era novels....more
Loading...
