Book Review

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So, you’re Cat’s new pet, huh?”

After a difficult year at NYU, aspiring writer Lora Ricci feels like things are starting to turn around when she lands an summer internship with Elle, a famous fashion magazine. Upon her arrival, she meets Cat Wolff, the contributing editor and soon Lora finds herself spending more and more time with Cat. Their friendship over the course of the internship leads to Lora dropping out of NYC to be Cat’s ghostwriter and Lora feels like all this is good to be true but at the same time she’s willing to make the move. But, Lora begins to wonder if she made the wrong choice as Cat’s perfect exterior begins to crack leaving Lora to question who she really is.

This was such a wild ride and I love how it unfolded from beginning to end. I found the way of using text messages, emails, phone calls transcripts as a way to tell the story was very interesting. It did take some time to get used to that because most books aren’t done that way but I did like it for the most part. The plot was super interesting and I did find it hard to put the book down because I had to find out what happened next. As for the characters, I found Lora and Cat very interesting and the dynamics between felt very real and although Cat did some very dumb things, I did feel for her at times. All in all, I enjoyed it and if you’re looking for a good mystery thriller, this is it!

BOOk Review

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“It occurred to Delilah that this was probably the longest she’d ever really looked at her stepsister. She’d spent years perfecting the art of avoidance, of protection, of never letting Astrid see how much Delilah was hurting. If eyes were the window into the soul, Delilah’s had long been shuttered.”

If Delilah Greene had it her way, she would never go back to that dreadful city that is Bright Falls where her distant and cold step family are and memories of a childhood that she never had. Her life is in New York City where she is making herself out to be a skilled photographer and while she does want a relationship, being with a different girl each night is fine with her. Until the day she gets a phone call from her estranged sister, Astrid who ends up guilt tripping Deliliah into coming home for wedding and although she wants to say no, the five-figure check would be nice to have. Delilah ends up going but is not going to enjoy it. Or so she thinks.

This was an emotionally packed roller coaster from beginning to end and also hit me really hard as I related to Delilah’s heartache and pain from how her cold and distant family treated her. I really felt for her and found her to be a very real and relatable character and not just because of her trauma. In addition to that, I did enjoy seeing her relationship with her stepsister Astrid get better as things were discovered that the two girls didn’t know and ended up becoming closer because of it. Although, I wasn’t a fan of one of Astrid’s friends, Iris who was flat out a bully and treated Delilah like a child and I found myself speed reading whenever she was present. On the other hand, Delilah does become close with Clarie and I found their chemistry very real and loved the dynamics between them! Overall, an enjoyable book with a few bumps in the road but I highly recommend it.

Book Review

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“Maybe the universe is filled with introverts?”

Shizuka has made a deal with the devil and she only needs one more soul so she can trade their souls for success and she doesn’t have to wait long to find her final victim, Katrina Ngyuen as she can almost feel the curse lifting. But when chance and fate decide to intervene when she meets Lan Tran in a donuts shop, her mission soon moves to the back of her mind as she finds Lan Tran’s smile and personality are making her wonder if success is what she really wants and if not, is this finally the right time for her to open her heart? Follow the lives of Lan Tran, Katrina, and Shizuka as they find themselves connected through a journey of identity, hope, curses, magic and most importantly love.

This was such a fantastic book!!! I loved every bit of it, I wish I’d read it sooner as I found the plot, characters, and how it progressed very engaging. Lan Tran, Katrina, and Shizuka were all unique in their own way while also feeling so real and their dynamics were well done and that’s always a plus. It’s such a drag when the characters are so underdeveloped and for me it makes me less interested in the story. How the characters fit in with the plot and how it developed until the end flowed very nicely and nothing really felt out of place and I have always loved the found family trope and I felt that it was really well done in the book. There are times where it can be overdone and under developed but it wasn’t here so I was very happy about that. While the book does have a lot of heart-warming and fun moments, it also shows the unpleasant horrible, and dark moments especially for these characters. Lastly, the LGBT representation was fantastic and not used as plot devices but actually human beings because sometimes it can be disappointing when the rep is there but they’re only there as a plot device. So, this book was fantastic all around so I highly recommend it.

Book review

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“Maps are love letters written to times and places their makers had explored.”

For as long as Neil Young can remember cartography has long been her passion and it’s one she shared with her father, Dr. Daniel Young who is a legend in the field and Neil’s personal hero. But, the pair had a nasty falling out due to an old map that she had found and haven’t spoken since he fired her and destroyed her reputation. When Neil hears the tragic news that her father was murdered, she soon finds that out that map that drove them apart is incredibly rare and even if old wounds resurface, Neil knows it’s her duty to find out what happened to her father.

Finally got around to reading this and I’m glad that I did. While it did take sometime to get into story, I did enjoy the plot, characters, and how it developed until the end. I didn’t even really know what Cartography was in depth before this book and it actually made me more interested in it. The way that Shepard weaves into the writing added to the plot and it was very interesting to learn and read more about. What really made me invested into the book were the characters and the writing as I found it engaging and each character were well written with flaws, quirks, and I did enjoy the dynamics with each character. Overall, it was a very good read!

JUNE TBR

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Hello, I can’t believe it’s June!! I’m super excited to share my tbr for this month because I’ve picked out some really good ones!

The Cartographers by Peng Shepherd
Genre: Adult, Fiction, Mystery

Cover Story by Susan Rigetti
Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Fiction

Change of Heart by Clare Lydon
Genre: Adult, Contemporary, LGBT

Dead Collections by Isaac Fellman
Genre: Adult, Horror, LGBT

Deliah Green Doesn’t Care by Ashley Herring Blake
Genre: Adult, LGBT, Romance

From Bad To Cursed by Lana Harper
Genre: Adult, LGBT, Fantasy

Her Majesty’s Royal Coven by Juno Dawson
Genre: Adult, Fantasy, LGBT

Like A House On Fire by Lauren McBrayer
Genre: Adult, LGBT, Romance

Light From Uncommon Stars by Ryka Akoi
Genre: Adult, Fantasy, Sci-Fi

My Heart To Find by Elin Annalise
Genre: Adult, Mystery, LGBT

No Strings Attached by Rachel Lacey
Genre: Adult, LGBT, Romance

The Queer Principals of Kit Webb by Cat Sebastian
Genre: Adult, LGBT, Romance

Scorpica by G.R. Macallister
Genre: Adult, Fantasy, LGBT

So Happy For You by Celia Laskey
Genre: Adult, Contemporary, LGBT

The Thousand Eyes by A.K. Larkwood
Genre: Adult, LGBT, Romance

Wrath Goddess Sing by Maya Deane
Genre: Fantasy, LGBT, Mythology

Book Review: Iron Widow

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“Men wants us so badly for our bodies, yet hate us so much for our minds.”

While the boys of Huaxia dream of pairing up with the girls to pilot Chrysalises, giant robots that defeat the mecha ailens that lurk beyond the great wall where the girls dread it as they often die from mental strain. But, not all the girls dread pairing up with the boys, there is one girl who is more than ready to take on the challenge in an attempt to have her revenge on the man who killed her sister. When Zietan is chosen, she ends up getting more she’s bargained for as she is successful in killing the man who killed her sister but comes out of it unscathed thus dubbing her the iron widow. Now, she is set on understanding how the pilot system works in hopes of preventing more girls from being sacrificed.

This gave me pacific rim vibes as soon I read the summary on Goodreads and it did have that vibe while getting into the novel even though it started a little slow. But, I’ll get to that in a bit as I did enjoy the characters as they were all deeply flawed with good development to understand their motives even if I didn’t like the character. But, the big flaw that made me less invested in it was the lack of development with the magic system and world-building as there were times where I was confused and needed a little more information. I love good world-building and sadly this one didn’t have it and I do feel if the author had done more with the magic system then maybe I would’ve enjoyed it more than I did. The themes that are discussed throughout the novel are very relevant to what is happening now and I felt as though Zhao does a good job of connecting them to the plot. Overall, it was a good book even though I felt a little disappointed but feel free to check it out if it sounds enjoyable to you!

Book Review: Set On You

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(Quote to be added)

Crystal Chen has spend the majority of her life proving people wrong and learning to embrace who she is without changing for anyone else. She has built up a incredible fitness career shattering stereotypes and promoting body positivity as a curvy fitness influencer. Reeling from a recent breakup, she is ready to prove thats he doesn’t need anyone than herself but things become complicated with a new man walks into her life, Scott Ritchie, a firefighter who is looking to get back into shape. The two are at odds at first but the more they get to know one another, the more sparks begin to fly leaving Crystal to wonder if second chances are worth it.

This was such a fun and super cute debut! First off, I’m glad that Crystal was plus sized because there isn’t enough rep in books especially romance. It was nice to see and Crystal won me over as I felt her personality and how she presented herself were endearing and empowering. She very much owned who she is and fully embraced that which is always very relevant as there are so many people who struggle with feeling secure and confident in who they are. I enjoyed reading about her journey of being a fitness influencer and how she and Scott first started out as enemies turned lovers. This is one of my favorite and it was really well done here. The romance was very believable and I was rooting for both of them throughout the entire book, they were so cute with each other! All in all, it was a great book to read!

Book Review: She WHo BECAME THE SUN

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“However tired I am, however hard it is: I know I can keep going, because I’m alive.”

In 1345, China lives under harsh mongle rule and for the starving peasants of Central Plains, greatest is only found in stories.When the Choboga’s eight born son Zhu, is given a fate of greatness and while everyone is misfited by this fate, they aren’t surprised that his clever and capable sister is given a fate of nothingness. But, all that changes when tragedy hits and leaves the two siblings orphaned, it is Zhu who succumbed to despair and dies leaving his sister alone, afraid, and desperate to not die by the same fate. Propelled by her desire to survive, she will do whatever is necessary to stay alive no matter the cost to stay hidden from her fate.

I’m glad that I finally got around to reading this because I did really enjoy it even though it did have some flaws and issues regarding the pacing, writing, and too many characters so we’ll start with that. While I did enjoy how the story progressed, I had trouble with pacing and felt as though the story should’ve focused more on Zhu. It was hard to keep up at times because I had to backread and see if I had missed something when a new character was introduced. When there are so many characters in a book, it can be hard to stay invested because of the lack of development and can at times steer people away. The other stuff made up for it as I very much enjoyed Zhu’s character and how she progressed though the book. So even with the flaws, I did enjoy the book so if it sounds like something you’re interested in, please check it out for yourself!

BOok Review: The Girl WHO FELL BENEATH THE SEA

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“Nothing extraordinary is ever done out of reason or logic, but because it’s the only way for your soul to breathe.”

Not only have deadly storms impacted Mina’s homeland but bloody wars have ravished their lands leaving them very few resources. Her people believe that they have been cursed by the Sea God who was one their protector and savior but now curses them with death and despair. In an attempt to appease him, her people have sacrifced a beautiful young maiden every year in hopes of finding his true bride and letting her people rebuild their city. Many believe the bride is her brother Joon’s beloved Shim Cheong and on the night she is to be sacrificed, Joon follows even though he knows it is a death sentence. In an effort to save her brother, Mina jumps into the water only to find thrust into an adventure that she never expected as the Sea God is fast asleep and there are those who wish that he remain asleep. Mina knows she has to act fast as humans can’t survive in the land of spirits for very long and the longer she goes, the more time is running out.

This was such a good retelling and the cover is absolutely gorgeous! That was what actually reeled me in and I enjoyed how the story developed, the characters, plot and felt that the pacing worked well for this book. It was such a charming, fun, beautiful, and enchanting story that reminded me of Spirited Away in a good way. Although this marketed towards young adults, I still enjoyed the story felt that it worked best for this specific audience. What I loved most was the world building as it was beautifully written and made me feel as if I was actually there in the world along with the characters. While I enjoyed mostly everything, it did feel a bit predictable at times but I was able to overlook the flaws and still enjoy the story and how it developed.