LGBT

Darling by K. Ancrum

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Rating: 4/5

The Plot:

A dark and twisted retelling of an old classic, Peter Pan which tells the story of Wendy Darling who has just moved to Chicago with her parents. Wendy feels like her life will never get any better until her first night, a young boy by the name of Peter appears at her window and invites for a night on the town. Wendy is ready for a night on the town and expects the two to hit a party but instead they’re heading to the underground. While Wendy adapts to this new experience, she not only makes friends but enemies along the way and has to face her own struggles and insecruties of feeling like she’s trapped where she is with no way out. But, if she’s not careful she might make it out alive at all.

“Hearing the other teens laughing fake and loud made Wendy feel like she was about to pass out. People don’t get good at doing things like that unless they needed to. Unless they’ve done it often and for their own protection.”

The Characters:

While I did enjoy the characters, I actually felt like there were too many characters. I found them interesting but I was also flipping back and forth and feeling confused. I think it would’ve been better if there weren’t so many because it was hard to know who was being talked about and I also felt like it took away from the story in a way. Peter is very flawed as are the other characters, Detective Hook, Wendy, Tinkerbell which was very realistic and uncomfortable at the same time especially with Detective Hook and Peter Pan. Ancrum doesn’t shy away of showing how Peter’s toxic behavior and grooming of the disadvantage lost boys and how things get complicated once Wendy comes into the picture. Oh the other hand Detective is far from the hero as he reeks of incompotence, enables police brutality, among other things. The LGBT representation is also really good in the book and there’s even disability rep so that’s always a plus.

The Writing:

This was my first introduction to K. Ancrum and I really enjoyed her writing. She has a way with words and making super compex and uncomfortable subjects raw and real without overdoing it. This was a very interesting retelling of an old classic but people should take trigger warnings seriously before reading this book.

Some Girls Do by Jennifer Dugan

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Rating: 3/5

“I’m not spending my life pretending I’m something I’m not, or making myself smaller and quieter, just because someone else thinks I should.

After finding out being queer is against her catholic school’s code of conduct, Morgan is forced to transfer schools where she ends up meeting Ruby who has two hobbies: competing in beauty pageants and tinkering with her baby blue 1970 Ford Torino. When the two meet, a connection is formed and soon come to realize that the connection is more than platonic and can’t deny their feelings for one another. But while Morgan is ready to announce it to the world, Ruby isn’t ready to take that step? Can the two find a resolution or will the relationship go up in flames?

Some Girls Do is your typical YA novel about coming into your own and being proud of who you are and owning it. I have a big gripe about this book as Morgan doesn’t deserve Ruby because she’s annoying, entitled, and passive aggressive. Both girls do things to hurt each other but I found Morgan’s actions more disrespectful especially the attitude of “I’m out and so should you” and it made me feel bad for Ruby. There’s a part in the book where Ruby confronts about it and Morgan deserved to get told off because that’s just wrong. It’s not up to anyone else but the individual themselves when they want to come out. Morgan just straight up annoyed me throughout the entire book and I for can’t buy the romance especially how Morgan treated Ruby. She felt that she was entitled and didn’t have much growth throughout the book and I can see how coming from a wealthy catholic school would make her that way but you would think being away from that environment, she would make an effort to change and be more understanding. So, while it’s a fun book the romance is something that I can’t buy mostly because Morgan is insufferable and doesn’t Ruby imo.

August TBR

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OMG! How is it almost fall? This is so crazy but I am so ready fit!! I’m even more excited about my tbr for this month cause it’s going to b great! Reading more books this month or I’m gonna try for a fun readathon for the Goodreads discord server I’m in! So here are my picks!!

A Court of Honey & Ash by Shannon Meyer and Kelly St. Clare
Genre: Fantasy, Romance, YA

A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder by Holly Jackson
Genre: Fiction, Mystery, YA

Amelia Unbridged by Ashley Schumacher
Genre: Contemporary, YA, Fiction

Better Than The Movies by Lynn Painter
Genre: Contemporary, Romance, YA

Catch & Cradle by Katia Rose
Genre: Romance, LGBT, New Adult

The Dead And The Dark by Courtney Gould
Genre: Horror, Fantasy, YA

Deep Blue Eternity by Natasha Boyd
Genre: Romance, New Adult, Contemporary

Girls At The Edge Of The World by Laura Brooke Robson
Genre: LGBT, Fantasy, YA

How Hard Can Love Be? By Holly Bourne
Genre: YA, Romance, Contemporary

Foretold by Violet Lumani
Genre: LGBT, Fantasy, Romance

Forget This Ever Happened by Cassandra Rose Clarke
Genre: Fiction, Contemporary, Poetry

Into The Heartless Wood by Joanna Ruth Meyer
Genre: Fantasy, Fiction, YA

Lyrics & Curses by Candace Robinson
Genre: Fantasy, YA

One Year Of Maybe by Rachel Lynn Solomon
Genre: Contemporary, YA, Romance

Outrun The Wind by Elizabeth Tammi
Genre: Fantasy, LGBT, Romance

Six Crimson Cranes by Elizabeth Lim
Genre: Fantasy, Retellings, Young Adult

Some Girls Do by Jennifer Dugan
Genre: LGBT, Contemporary, Romance

Trouble Girls by Julia Lynn Rubin
Genre: LGBT, YA, Romance

Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson
Genre: Mystery, YA, Contemporary

What I Carry by Jennifer Longo
Genre: YA, Contemporary, Fiction

We Regret To Inform You by Ariel Kaplan
Genre: YA, Contemporary, Mystery

The Wicked Deep by Shea Ernshaw
Genre: Fantasy, YA

What Beauty There Is by Cory Anderson
Genre: YA, Thriller, Mystery

Who I Was With Her by Nita Tyndall
Genre: LGBT, YA, Romance


July Wrap Up

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I can’t believe July is over!! It flew by so quick and I enjoyed all the books for this month, they were well worth the read and I can’t wait to share them all with you! So let’s get started!

Ace of Spades by Faridah Abike-Iyimde
Genre: Contemporary, Fiction, YA
Review: Here

Rating: 4/5

Am I Normal Yet? By Holly Bourne
Genre: Contemporary, Fiction, YA
Review: Here

Rating: 5/5

Black Water Sister by Zen Cho
Genre: LGBT, YA, Fantasy
Review: Here

Rating: 4/5

The Darkness Outside Us by Eliot Schrefer
Genre: LGBT, Sci-Fi, YA
Review: Here

Rating: 4/5

Don’t Call The Wolf by Aleksandra Ross
Genre: Fantasy, Retellings, Fiction
Review: Here

Rating: 3.5/5

Fly With The Arrow by Sarah K.L. Wilson
Genre: Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult
Review: Here

Rating: 3/5

Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley
Genre: Mystery, Fiction, Young Adult
Review: Here

Rating: 4/5

The Maidens by Alex Michaelides
Genre: Fiction, Mystery, Thriller
Review: Here

Rating: 3/5

Miss Meteor by Tehlor Kay Mejia and Anna-Marie McLemore
Genre: Fiction, Romance, YA
Review: Here

Rating: 4/5

The Nature of Witches by Rachel Griffin
Genre: Fiction, Fantasy, YA
Review: Here

Rating: 4/5

Neon Gods by Katee Robert
Genre: Fantasy, Romance, New Adult
Review: Here

Rating: 4/5

Night Spinner by Addie Thorley
Genre: Fantasy, Romance, YA
Review: Here

Rating: 4/5

Only Mostly Devastated by Sophie Gonzales
Genre: Romance, LGBT, Young Adult
Review: Here

Rating: 4/5

Promised Neverland by Kaiu Shirai
Genre: Graphic Novels, Magna
Review: Here

Rating: 4/5

Sing Me Forgotten by Jessica S. Olson
Genre: Fantasy, Romance, YA
Review: Here

Rating: 3.5/5

Sisters Of The Snake by Sasha & Sarena Nauna
Genre: Fantasy, Retellings, Romance
Review: Here

Rating: 3.5/5

The Sea Is Salt And So Am I by Cassandra Hartt
Genre: Contemporary, LGBT, Young Adult
Review: Here

Rating: 3/5

The Southern Book Club’s Guide To Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix
Genre: Horror, Fiction, Fantasy
Review: Here

Rating: 3.5/5

This Poison Heart by Kaylnn Bayron
Genre: Fantasy, LGBT, Young Adult
Review: Here

Rating:3/5

Witchshadow by Susan Dennard
Genre: Fantasy, Fiction, Young Adult
Review: Here

Rating: 4/5

Only Mostly Devastated by Sophie Gonzales

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Rating: 4/5

“That’s the beautiful thing about the universe. It puts you through trials, but it never gives you anything you can’t handle. We grow from these things.” 

Ollie thinks he’s found his perfect match in Will Tavares, he’s fun, affectionate, and kind and Ollie can’t wait to continue the romance after summer ends. There’s just one problem, Will stops texting Ollie as soon as break is over and Ollie is crushed. Add insult to injury, Ollie finds himself moving across country due to a family emergency and Ollie is less crushed when he finds out he’ll be going to the same school as Will. But, Ollie soon sees a very different Will and not someone he wants to be around especially when Will goes from hot to cold every other week. But just as much as Ollie doesn’t want anything to do with him, Will starts showing up in Ollie’s life a bit more than Ollie wants. Ollie wants to keep his resolve up and not fall back into Will’s hands but it starts to become harder and harder.

A bit of a slow start but nonetheless a pretty good read. I did find it a little short and would’ve liked to read more about Ollie and Will. At first, I wasn’t sure if the romance would work because they seemed to different and I didn’t see the attraction at first but the more I got into the book, the more I liked their relationship. This is my second read by Sophie Gonzales, I read Perfect on Paper in June and really liked it so I decided to check this one out. A fun and easy read with a cute plot with interesting characters.

Miss Meteor by Tehlor Kay Mejia and Anne-Marie McLemore

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Rating: 4/5

“And it’s not the perfect moment. It’s not even one of the six movie moments we’ve had in the past week. But it’s the moment. It’s our moment. Something in me just knows.”

The Miss Meteor pageant hasn’t any a winner like Chicky Quintanilla and Lita Perez in all it’s history. But that’s not why Lita and Chicky want to enter the competition as Miss Meteor isn’t about being perfect but sharing who you are to the world and loving the parts of yourself. So to pull off the biggest underdog in Miss Meteor’s pageant history Lita and her ex-best friend Chicky are going to try and put the past behind them and imagine a future where girls like them are more than enough, they are everything.

I love a good underdog story and this book was a real treat. Anne-Marie McLemore is one of my favorite authors so when I saw this book on goodreads, I decided to check it out. It was such a fun, witty, heartfelt, endearing story with magical elements that kept you glued to the page. While it took awhile to get used to the writing style as I’m used to McLemore’s flowery style but there’s a lot more to focus on than that. Miss Meteor is a story of self-empowerment and stepping into yourself accepting your imperfections and owning who you are. I think that was my favorite aspect of the story with the characters reclaiming what they were shamed for and it’s so relevant especially in today’s world.

The dynamics between Lita and Chicky were great, I enjoyed reading about their friendship and with what happened in the past I hoped they would find their back to each other. Not only do they have a great bond but their friendship felt very real and I enjoyed it. I would also say that for the rest of the characters throughout the book as there was a lot of love from sisters, families, and other characters that was very heartwarming and wonderful to see.

Overall, a very endearing story about self-empowerment and being proud of you are flaws and all.

This Poison Heart by Kaylnn Bayron

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Rating: 3/5

Brisesis has a strange yet fascinating gift where she can grow plants from tiny seeds to rich blooms with a single touch. But, when her aunt dies and gives her dilapidated estate to Bri and her parents decide to leave rural Brooklyn for the summer in hopes that Bri can hone her magically gift in the open space that surrounds her aunt’s estate. At first, things are perfect but looks can be deceiving and Bri and her family don’t have any idea of what sinister awaits for them. Soon, strangers start coming to the door wanting elixer’s and when Bri learns that she can make them, she decides to use her talent and things couldn’t be better. Until, Bri meets a woman named Maria and the two become friends until Bri finds out that Maria is keeping secrets of her own and soon Bri finds herself with more than she bargained for and she must not only save herself but her family.

This is the second book that I’ve read from Bayron and I actually prefer Cinderella is Dead to this one because the pacing for this book was awful imo. The character didn’t even arrive in the setting until 25% into the book and while there parts where I felt like things were picking up, the poor pacing continued throughout the book and it made me a bit disappointed. Briesis is very relatable character and I do think she was well-written and I liked her personality but I just felt like the pacing of the book really impacted my enjoyment of it. Another part that irked me a bit was the immortal love interested who was in the body of a seventeen year old. The main character, Breisis is barely seventeen yet her love interest some hundred years her senior? That might not bother some people but that felt weird to me.

But, there a few things that I enjoyed and in particular the relationship between Bri and her mother, I felt like it was a very well written and there is so much love between the two of them and that’s always nice to see. I also enjoyed learning about the magic system and I thought that it was explained very well and made it interesting. I wish I could’ve enjoyed this book as much as others did but I couldn’t due to the issues that I mentioned but if you feel like this sounds up your alley, check it out for yourself!

Black Water Sister by Zen Cho

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TW: Abuse, Violence, Accidents, Loss of loved ones etc.

Rating: 4/5

“You can bargain with anybody, spirit or human. All you need to know is what do they want and what are they scared of. That’s all.” 

Black Water Sister follows the story of Jessaymn, a young woman who is moving back to the Malaysia, her childhood home where the past that she left behind comes back in a way that she didn’t expect. When she arrives back, Jess begins to hear voices and at first she chalks it up to stress but then she comes to realize that the voices hears is that of her estranged grandmother, Ah-Ma. In life, she was a spirit medium, the avatar of mysterious deity Black Water Sister and now she’s decided that Jess is gonna help her settle the score with a gang leader who offended the god. On the journey, Jess is thrown into a world of gods, ghosts, and family secrets, she finds that making deals with spirits is a dangerous game and she may not make it out alive.

What a compelling read! Not only did I enjoy the characters, the storyline, and the dynamics within the world that Cho created, but I really enjoyed learning about the culture. I laughed, cried, and didn’t want the book to end but sadly it did. This is the first book that I’ve read from Zen Cho and I will definitely be checking out more by her because of her writing and how she gives a beautiful backdrop into the south east asia culture. I learned quite a bit while following Jess on her journey and what witty, sassy, fun, and sarcastic protagonist. Jess was an absolute delight and I loved learning more about her and seeing her grow in this journey. One that is about self-discovery and not only figuring her place in the world but feeling secure with her identity and taking command of that narrative.

The supernatural elements were great, I really enjoyed Cho weaving that into the story and it really added more to the story. I don’t mind gore or horror but it can be a lot for others that something to think about as there are a few scenes that a bit graphic but for the most part, it was more haunting than anything.

This was such a fun, mysterious, haunting, and enthralling read so if you’re looking for an enjoyable urban fantasy with a witty, fun-loving, and relatable character while being spooked and entertained with Cho’s storytelling then this is it!

Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

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Rating: 4/5

“It is not your fault,” she said gently. “Greed and hurt drive people to do horrible things.” 

Cemetery Boys follows a young latinx boy, Yadriel who is striving prove himself as a a young sorcerer not only to himself but to his family who aren’t as accepting or supportive as he wants them to be. He enlists the help of his best friend, Maritza and his cousin, he sets out to find the ghost of his murdered cousin and set him free. The only problem is, he summons Julian Diaz, the school’s notorious bad boy and he’s not going to go without putting up a fight. Julian and Yadriel end up making a deal so the two can get what they want but the more time Yadriel spends with Julian, the less he wants to let him leave.

I wanted to read this book for last month’s readathon but I got around to it a bit late and didn’t finish it on time. I’d heard lots of good things and I am a fan of Aiden Thomas, I do enjoy the representation that he puts in his novels and he is a great writer. While I felt like the worldbuilding and writing could use improvement, this was a fun book with great representation and diversity. The characters were interesting and well written and I did love reading about Yadriel’s perspective and their journey. I would’ve liked to see more developed with the magic system as that was intriguing but I felt like it needed to develop a little more to fully understand it. 

Overall, a good with with great LGBT + Latinx representation!