Author: piperreads

Can’t Take That Away

| piperreads

Rating: 4/5

“It’s a song about rising above people’s expectations, because in order to become your best self, you have to stay true to yourself and choose love.”

The story starts with Carey, who dreams of being famous and being able to bring the house down. But, underneath all the talent are emotional scars from events that have occurred in their that is making harder to focus not only finding their voice but being to feel good with themselves. But things start to change when they meets Cris, a singer/songwriter who makes Carey feel seen for the first time in their life. When Cris’s help, Carey starts to accept who they are and embrace their identity. What follows is a tale of expression, acceptance, and most importantly love.

Wow, what a beautiful written emotional debut by Steven Salvatore. From the first to the last page, I went to laughing, crying, and feeling overwhelmed by the story. Salvatore brings so much life and complexity to the characters and made them very real and relatable. I found myself enjoying reading the different perspectives and thought they were all fleshed out well written character. What I really loved about this book is that Salvatore, titles the chapter in accordance with the individual’s pronouns. I found that very endearing and wonderful it was a way of letting the reader know what pronouns that individual wants to be referred by. I really liked that because I know that misgendering can be very upsetting so I thought that was sweet touch.

All in all a really great debut and I will looking out for more from Salvatore because I really enjoyed his writing style and how they craft their characters.

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Perfect on Paper

| piperreads

Rating: 4/5

For the first time, the very very first time, I really believed them. That my relationship status did not change me. And that even if other people didn’t agree, every single person in this room had my back without hesitation. I was with them and they were with me and we were with each other. A community within a community within a community. No questions asked. No proof needed. No valid form of identification required. We just belonged because we belonged.” 

For a fee, Darcy Phillips can solve all your relationships woes and tries to use her power for good. But, when her least favorite person Alexander Broughram finds out about her secret relationship advice service, she’s forced into being his personal dating coach or he will tell her secret. Alexander wants to win back his ex-girlfriend and Darcy is hiding a secret of her own that if it gets out, it could ruin all the happiness she has.

I picked this book up late for the June Goodreads Challenge on the discord server and I’m actually super happy that I did. I hadn’t heard of the book or writer before but I am going to check out her other books as I found this book very enjoyable and real. It was a very well written book that tackles not only tackles LGBT issues well but also writes about teens making questionable choices and making mistakes, well-written characters, good dynamics between the main and secondary characters etc.

Darcy is such a mess but I love it and I found her very relatable especially her struggles with her bisexuality and the biphobia she deals with. Not only that but I loved that Darcy’s sister was trans and they had such a wonderful relationship, it was so loving and supportive. I really had such a fun time reading this and I was really happy with the representation as that can be really hard to find.

Would definitely recommend this book to anyone!

Written In The Stars

| piperreads

Rating: 5/5

“Life would be a lot better if we all spent a little more time staring at the stars.”

Darcy is a nonsense, analytical, by the books and Elle is free-spirited, fun, and is one of the authors of a very popular astrology twitter page. But, when Darcy’s brother who also happens to be Elle’s new business partner spills his happiness about their first date being a success, Elle is sure he’s confused. Darcy begs Elle to go along with it and she agrees but on one condition: Darcy has to help Elle navigate the holidays with dealing with overbearing family. What happens a fake relationship starts to turn into something real?

Holy shit, this book was so good! Fake dating is one of my favorite tropes and it was done so well here. I loved everything about this book especially the relationship with Darcy and Elle. It really was believable and I loved seeing their feelings change for each other throughout the book and the smut was hot too. In addition to that, I really enjoy Darcy and Elle step out of their comfort zones and deal with issues that are relevant and it felt very real. They came over their own fears and insecurities and learn that not only do they need to love others but also themselves.

Overall, this was a really fun book so I definitely recommend it especially if you like sapphic novels. This was a real delight!

Her Royal Highness by Rachel Hawkins

| piperreads

Rating: 3/5

“It’s not cool to stare, I know that, but this is literally the prettiest girl I’ve ever seen in my life.” 

Devastated by the revelation that her best friend/on-off again girlfriend kissed someone else, Millie Quint can’t bare to confront her so she decides apply for scholarships so she can get far away. The last place she expected to get accepted into would be one of the most exclusive and elite boarding schools in Scotland. Not only is the school gorgeous but it’s a completely different life than her own. There’s only one problem: Princess Flora of Scotland is her roommate and the two couldn’t be more different. What happens when the two start to realize they aren’t that different than they think? Will sparks fly or will Millie get burnt again?

Originally, wasn’t on my tbr until I started looking again at LGBT recs on Goodreads last night and this popped up for me. I would’ve given it a higher rating had the relationship between the two feel rushed. I would’ve liked to seen more development in the relationship. The writing also could’ve been a bit better as I feel like that would’ve helped with the development of the relationship. But, aside from that I loved Millie and Princess Fiona, I thought they were very well written characters who were very unique in their own right. Plus, I love enemies to friends and eventually lovers, it’s probably one of my favorite tropes.

Overall, it was a cute book!

June TBR

| piperreads

Happy June Everyone!! I’m excited to get reading for this month because it also happens to LGBT month and I will be celebrating my birthday as well so it’s a good month all around.

The Charm Offensive by Allison Cochrun
Genre: Contemporary, Romance, LGBT

Cinderella is Dead by Kaylnn Brayon
Genre: LGBT, Fantasy, YA

The Unbroken #1 by C.L. Clark
Genre: LGBT, Fantasy, Adult

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In Deeper Waters by F.T. Lukens
Genre: Fantasy, LGBT, YA

Sistersong by Lucy Holland
Genre: LGBT, Fantasy, Historical Fiction

Kate In Waiting by Becky Albertalli
Genre: Fiction, Romance, Contemporary

The Dark Tide by Alicia Jasinska
Genre: LGBT, Romance, Fantasy


Rainbirds by Clarissa Goenawan
Genre: Mystery, Fiction, Contemporary

Life’s Too Short by Abby Jimenez
Genre: Contemporary, Romance, Fiction

The Sky Blues by Robbie Couch
Genre: LGBT, Ya, Romance

Written in the Stars by Alexandria Bellefleur
Genre: Contemporary, LGBT, Romance

Perfect on Paper by Sophie Gonzales
Genre: LGBT, Romance, YA

The Mirror Season by Anna Marie McLemore
Genre: Fantasy, Magical Realism, LGBT

Between Perfect and Real by Ray Stoeve
Genre: LGBT, Contemporary, YA

Can’t Take That Away by Steven Salvatore
Genre: LGBT, YA

May Wrap-Up

| piperreads

Wow, I can’t believe May is nearly done. This has been a wild and crazy month but I did manage to do a lot of reading and instead of sharing what I read with you, I’m going to share my favorites.

Divine Blood by Beck Michaels
Genre – Fantasy, Romance, YA
Full Review – Here

Rating: 4/5

Champion by Marie Lu
Genre – Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Romance, YA
Full Review – Here

Rating: 4/5

Anxious People by Fredrik Backman
Genre – Contemporary, Fiction, Mental Health
Full Review – Here

Rating: 4/5

From Blood And Ash #1 by Jennifer Armentrout
Genre – Fantasy, Romance, NA
Full Review – Here

Rating: 4/5

Shattered Kingdom by Angelina Steffort
Genre – Fantasy, Romance, YA
Full Review – Here

Rating: 4/5

The Guest List by Lucy Foley
Genre – Mystery, Thriller
Full Review – Here

Rating: 4/5

The Beautiful Ones

| piperreads

Rating: 4/5

“It was not effortlessly. It tore me apart, but the poison has bled out.”

Well, this was a nice surprise as Historical Fiction and I don’t really get along but the story, characters, writing made me fall in love with it. This is the second book that I’ve read by Garcia and I did enjoy Mexican Gothic and I’d heard good things about this book, so I figured why not?

The story follows Hector, Valarie, and Nina as they try to avoid scandal while trying to win what they desire. Hector and Valarie were lovers but Valarie ended the engagement so she could marry into the wealthy Beaulieu family. To be closer to Valarie and attempt to win her back, he decides to court Nina Beaulieu and what follows is a story of love, betrayal, and a struggle between conforming and passion.

First off, I absolutely loved the romance, it was subtle very intriguing and kept me interested. I found the character quirky and interesting, they all had different aspects to them and were well written. Nina was probably my favorite character, I found her fun, honest, and had youthful wild side to her that was entertaining. The other characters were just as entertaining and complex but I found myself feeling happy reading about her. Finally, I loved the antagonists because I hated yet loved them at the same time, they were unique and interesting and found myself invested in their stories.

Overall, it was an enjoyable read and I’m not to read books that heavily focus on “scandal” and “gossip” so this was a very nice surprise.

The Song of The Marked

| piperreads

Rating: 3/5

“Her cheeks warmed, and she briefly hoped they might burn hot enough to simply melt her out of existence— but then a corner of his mouth almost inched upward.“

TW: Kidnapping, Anxiety, PTSD

Casia Greythrone is a mercenary who does what she can to not only protect herself but her family. A devastating illness called fading sickness has been ravaging her country and Casia is one of the victims. Soon, she becomes it’s only survivor but it comes with a cost. The sickness has altered her physical appearance to shades of grey and she knows this makes her a target to the King who is a persecutor of anyone who carries magic. What will Casia and how far is she willing to go to find out the source of the fading sickness while also keeping herself from harm?

I wanted to love this book because it sounded like it would be up my alley but sadly it turned out not to bed and I wasn’t fully invested in it. The plot sounds really cool but I didn’t feel like it was fleshed out enough or even tied things together. Casia goes on really cool adventures but for me, I feel like all these things should tie together and it wasn’t there.

Casia is a well-written herione and I do love the mental health aspect that the author tied in as she struggles with PTSD and Anxiety. I love how Gaither wrote her as a badass warrior who does have struggles that people can relate with and for me, this is what got me through the story. The other characters throughout the book are very interesting and I did enjoy the dynamics and relationship between Cas and Elandor. I thought it was really well written and they have great banter a few steamy scenes. The ending was a bit wild but not enough to make continue the series.

Overall, it was good but not as good as I thought it would be. There were things that I felt like could’ve been different or fleshed out more but I think if you like TOG, you’d probably like this series as well.

Crown of Feathers

| piperreads

Rating: 3/5

“I control you, he said to his fear, you do not control me.”

The story follows Veronyka, who is a war orphan and dreams of becoming a Phoenix Rider from the stories of old. After a shocking betrayal from her controlling sister, Veronyka is willing to disguise herself as a boy in an effort to finally be part of the riders. Veronyka soon find herself in a place of belonging but that peaceful doesn’t last long with the twists turns that follow her, especially when her older sister reveals a web of tangled lies that will change everything.

The beautiful covers always reel me in and this was one of those books that had a beautiful cover but the rest of the book didn’t do so much for me. I was really hoping more magic would be in the book and there was very little. I also felt like it was very slow in some parts and it was hard to get through it.

Characters and plot are always what I look for in books and sadly, the character aspect in this book didn’t have me loving them at all. I felt like while they were very unique in their own, there was really no development in their personalities. This is always a bummer for me because I did like the characters but the lack of development left me going meeeh.

I really want to like this book but sadly that didn’t happen. But, if you like fantasy and are willing to give this a try then go for it!