Thank you to NetGalley for providing me an ARC of this book for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
I anticipated this to be a Jurassic Park x PThank you to NetGalley for providing me an ARC of this book for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
I anticipated this to be a Jurassic Park x Pirates of the Caribbean type adventure and it was more an ARK survival x Pirates of the Caribbean type adventure. This didn't phase me at all, just a note for other folks who are interested!
Now for the review: holy moly, I had a blast reading this book! It was a rollicking, occasionally gory and raunchy adventure with plenty of pirates and dinosaurs. Despite the fantastical events, the historical elements (namely pirate and dinosaur stuff) was clearly meticulously researched. I also found the characters to be very endearing despite their rough and tumble demeanor (I mean they're all pirates, so that's a given). I also found the villain quite complex! For an action/adventure romp, this book surprised me with both its great sense of humor and huge amount of heart.
My one complaint about the book was the storyline jumps at the beginning. These felt very theatrical and I think had this been a film, it would be clearer when the narrative dipped back into the past. As it is in written form, sometimes these shifts weren't very obvious from the get go and it took me a little too long to figure out that I was in flashback territory rather than a continuation of the present plot line. Other than this, it was a really heckin' good time.
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me an ARC of this audiobook for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Oh my goodness, this was such an incredThank you to NetGalley for providing me an ARC of this audiobook for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Oh my goodness, this was such an incredibly fun book! I came for the queer pirates and stayed for the lovable characters and utter hilarity! I truly can't remember the last time I laughed so hard at a book. I also adored the cool little details of the world, such as the island-sized turtles, the glowing blue dogs, the ghosts who needed sexy little dances to be appeased and leave people alone, and the herald cards with descriptions at the beginning of each chapter! All of these things added so much depth to an already endearing and wildly funny cast of characters.
The audiobook narration was incredible and added to the humor rife in this book. I really enjoyed how easy it was to tell which character was which from the accents and inflections the narrator added.
I am looking forward to seeing what comes next from this author and exploring her already established series!
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me an ARC of this book for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
This short little manga is so sweet! It centThank you to NetGalley for providing me an ARC of this book for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
This short little manga is so sweet! It centers around an aroace character AND includes several queer side characters who are all represented in such positive and authentic ways. It also contains really valuable information about asexuality and would be a fantastic read for anyone wondering about their own sexuality and gender identity.
My only complaint is that I wish it was longer. I would love to read more of Chika's story, or more about the various side characters.
Publication date (English edition): Jan 17, 2023 ...more
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me an ARC of this audiobook for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
I ADORED this cute little sapphic loveThank you to NetGalley for providing me an ARC of this audiobook for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
I ADORED this cute little sapphic love story. Kianthe and Reyna had such a healthy relationship and I adored how they communicated so well. I loved the pacing of the story and the coziness of the vibes combined with stakes that kept the story moving. I also liked the setup for a sequel and am excited to read the the next book. (view spoiler)[ My only criticism is that the way Reyna's issue with the queen was resolved did not feel like a real resolution. Even though she says she's free to do as she wishes, I feel like she's low-key still working for the queen, which is not how I would define freedom. But perhaps she'll come up again in the next book and things will be more resolved. (hide spoiler)]
The audiobook narration was INCREDIBLE. Probably my favorite audiobook I've ever listened to narration-wise. Also, the little one shot at the end of the audiobook. ...more
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me an ARC of this audiobook for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
I was so pleasantly surprised by the deThank you to NetGalley for providing me an ARC of this audiobook for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
I was so pleasantly surprised by the depth of this book. Behind the campiness and the fun horror iconography was an incredibly sincere commentary on queer representation, trauma, repression, internal homophobia, the destructive nature of capitalism, corporate greed, and compulsory heterosexuality. As much as I adored the campier moments, these more serious topics were what made the book stand out so much to me.
The story was very well done, and I enjoyed the more meta moments that Misha had where he pondered his actions as the protagonist of a story. I thought that the connections that each of Misha's monsters had to his past and trauma he faced were also incredible, and this felt like such a wonderful tribute to horror writers who include biographical elements in their stories.
I also caught a couple of references to the author's previous novel, Camp Damascus, and I am even more excited to read that novel now!
As a multi-voiced audiobook, this production fell short to me, because most actors only got a few lines of dialogue while the narrator performed most of the work. I have no complaints with the quality of the narration, it just felt disingenuous to call the production a full cast audiobook.
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me an ARC of this book for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
There were some things I really enjoyed and Thank you to NetGalley for providing me an ARC of this book for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
There were some things I really enjoyed and appreciated about this book, so I'll start with those: 1. Sister bonds: this sister bond was done well! The amount of fighting/arguments balanced well with the love and appreciation for each other, and I liked that the sister bond was the focal point, rather than a romantic bond. 2. Aro/ace rep: Ophelia's implied asexuality felt very in-character and was described in a period-appropriate way, so it didn't take me out of the historical time period. I really loved this aspect of her character! 3. OCD/neurodiverse rep: Again, the way that Betsy's mental struggles were described felt very period-appropriate and added a lot to her character.
Some icks that I had about the book: 1. Simple villains: the villains felt very unbelievable compared to the well-fleshed out main characters. I wish they had more substance to them to balance well with the complex mcs. 2. Pacing: The beginning of this book REALLY lagged. I was not very invested until around 50% of the way into the book, which is too long. For a title that promises a fast-paced piratical adventure, there sure wasn't a lot of fast paced moments or a lot of pirates.
All in all, this was a solid book, but it didn't hook me nearly as much as I had hoped it would because of the two dimensional villains and the slow pacing.
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me an ARC of this book for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
I ADORED this book. It was a lovely cozy sciThank you to NetGalley for providing me an ARC of this book for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
I ADORED this book. It was a lovely cozy sci-fi adventure, with fantastic autistic and poly representation to boot!
While the world was wonderful and so believable, the characters were what really shone through. Even the background characters clearly had their own lives and didn't seem to exist as just a backdrop for the story to take place.
I also REALLY appreciated the truthful representation of autism, particularly with Lane's character. Her autism was not represented by the extremes of infantilization or Savantism, but as a condition that makes some things about life difficult. I particularly loved the way her sensory issues and problems with social cues were highlighted without everyone around her only feeling pity. I also thought it was excellent that she responded to people in her life that infantilized her and treated her as less-than.
I also really enjoyed the representation of poly relationships. Not being poly myself, I certainly don't know all the intricacies of poly relationships, but I enjoyed that this book didn't only focus on the positives or the negatives, but rather a more realistic portrayal of both the highs and the lows in a poly relationship (also I absolutely adore the polycule in this book because they're all so good for each other ahhhh).
Truly a joy to read, and one I will happily reread and recommend to others!
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me an ARC of this book for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
This book had all the ingredients to make itThank you to NetGalley for providing me an ARC of this book for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
This book had all the ingredients to make it a new favorite: sapphic romance, dark academia, biblically accurate angels, cults, nonbinary/trans rep... alas, what it did with those ingredients was a wild ride, but like the kind that you want to get off of as soon as possible.
The two main characters were god-awful. And not in the way where they're so evil that you love to hate them. They were just completely empty vessels filled only with obsession (Veaer) and hunger for love (Elise) Their chemistry was NON-EXISTENT. For the life of me, I cannot understand Veaer's crazy obsession with Elise after seeing her literally murder someone else, and the fact that that element of the novel was not believable made everything else just that much less believable. Veaer is an absolute doormat of a character that seems to just exist to be a love interest for Elise, and that could be excusable in a side character, but she's the MAIN CHARACTER.
I also do not understand much of anything about the world of this story. There are terms thrown around like Senti and Caemi (Caemi gave me heavy furry vibes, so do with that what you will), but the differences between these races (species?) aren't explained at all. I am left with so many questions. Why do people care about the four heirs so much? Why do caemis seemingly have less rights than Senti? Who has magic and who doesn't? How do you know what kind of people have magic? How do the caemi and senti ascend to angels? What kind of education do most people need to thrive in this world (clearly arts/magic but like what about math and shit)? Additionally, the "dark academia" vibe fell very flat because the school just seemed to be a backdrop for the story. I was hoping for more academic rivalry/classics references as I come to expect when that genre is mentioned.
The shifting timeline also didn't make sense. I find myself wondering what the flashbacks to years 1 and 2 add to Veaer's character at all, especially since there weren't many of them at all.
Now despite all that I disliked about this book, it has some points that are its saving grace and that got it to 2 stars instead of just one. Tychon's character and his transness being connected to divinity was incredible. Veaer's visions of Tychon as a biblically accurate angel were very interesting. I really loved the connection this novel made between trans bodies and heavenly/angelic bodies, and if that aspect were more heavily included, I think I would have enjoyed this book a lot more. Alas, this saving grace was a mere spot compared to the rest of the book, so its inclusion was not enough to make me enjoy this book in its entirety.
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me an ARC of this book for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
I adored this Orpheus/Eurydice retelling! I Thank you to NetGalley for providing me an ARC of this book for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
I adored this Orpheus/Eurydice retelling! I love this story in all its forms, and this was no exception. In no way did the characters' labels (queer, poly, Latinx) feel added just for the sake of representation because all of these labels were essential to the story, which was wonderful. The verse was also beautiful, particularly the imagery of the City. It is cliche to say, but I felt as if I were there!
I have added some of R. M. Romero's other works to my TBR list because I loved this one so much. I am looking forward to exploring more of Romero's body of work! If it's anything like Death's Country, I have a lot to look forward to.
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me an ARC of this audiobook for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
I think some people out there will realThank you to NetGalley for providing me an ARC of this audiobook for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
I think some people out there will really enjoy this book, but boy howdy, it was NOT for me. The description sounded really fun. What's not to love about a bone forest, sapphic romance, and magic schools?
Unfortunately, all of this fell so flat for me for a few reasons: 1. The writing style: the writing style felt very clichéd to me. The whole "the wolf in my heart howled" and basically all the talk about the animals in Rosamunde's heart just killed me. The language also felt way too modern for what was supposedly a medieval-ish time period.
2. The heteronormativity of the main ship in a book marketed as queer-normative: YIKES. It truly felt like a slap in the face to my lesbian self to have Shaw so clearly be masculine-coded and take the lead on EVERYTHING and to have Rosamunde be very much the feminine-coded one. For all the other likable queer characters in very queer relationships, the main ship felt like a copy/paste of a stereotypical hetero romance but just with the MMC's pronouns switched. It made me so frustrated!
3. AND FINALLY, THE MOST EGREGIOUS REASON: THE TROPEY-NESS OF IT ALL!! Maybe it's on me for not looking up a tropes list of this book before starting it. But god, this was just a heavy-handed trope cocktail that was so hard to wade through in order to get to some good bits. For those who wish to know, such tropes include: -fake dating -fated mates/bonding (also wayyyy feels like this world low-key punishes single people, like bonding is the end all be all? Super irritating as well) -enemies to lovers -"I'm not like other girls" -Hella miscommunication -school bullying I honestly probably missed some. One or two of these wouldn't be so bad, but all of them? I truly almost turned off the audiobook in chapter one.
I find the idea of the bone forest very intriguing, and that is the ONLY reason this book is getting 2 stars instead of 1. The audiobook narration was also very nice. I will definitely not be reading the next book because getting through this one was such a pain. But again, I do think there are some folks out there that will eat this UP.
I really hated a lot of this book. It wasn't all bad, but I just think it dealt with some of its key themes/characters so poorly that it truthfully maI really hated a lot of this book. It wasn't all bad, but I just think it dealt with some of its key themes/characters so poorly that it truthfully made me sick to my stomach and I never want to pick it up again. It also heavily relied on some tropes that I'm sooooo tired of.
1. Ghost's character immediately turned me off with how fucking pretentious he sounded in his grief. Grief is a bitch, but the way he thought and talked about it made me so angry. How he treated Piper was also so icky. I was CRINGING when he started creepily talking to her at the hospital and constantly thinking about her "lost innocence." I cringed so much harder when he (view spoiler)[ KIDNAPPED HER and justified the whole thing in his brain as taking her to see her "sick" mom. (hide spoiler)]
2. At least in the audiobook, there was no trigger warning for incredibly violent gang rape or homophobia of any kind. As both of these went hand in hand in the book, it was incredibly hard to read as a queer person, and it wasn't necessary to include traumatic descriptions of this AT ALL. The victim also sympathizing with/finding his attacker attractive was such a damaging portrayal for rape victims. I'm all down for queer horror, I just don't want the horror to be homophobia because like... I get that enough in real life. It's just such an overdone/unnecessary thing to have queer characters whose whole plot revolves around queer trauma.
3. Ghost and Malik's storylines were not tied together well at all. It felt incredibly rushed and I wish they were integrated so much better.
4. The whole "chosen one" trope in this book also pissed me off. (view spoiler)[ Like... you're so mad at God that you can somehow withstand his presence without worshipping him and thus you're the ONLY reasonable choice to be a ritual sacrifice to him? Really? (hide spoiler)]
I left this book angry at the treatment of queer characters/queer trauma, pissed off at Ghost for being creepy and getting away with it, and super annoyed at the trope-heaviness of it all.
Sadly, the prologue got me so excited to read the book! I was super excited and hoping the rest of the book was as spooky and fun as the prologue, and then it just let me down big time. :/...more
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me an ARC of this book for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
My only complaint about this book is that itThank you to NetGalley for providing me an ARC of this book for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
My only complaint about this book is that it isn't longer! Jamie Pacton created such a cozy fantasy world to set this adorable sapphic love story in. I loved all the little nods to late 19th century and early 20th century history combined with some of the more fantastical elements of fae and dragons.
Esme and Sibyl's relationship is also SO cute and believable! I don't see a lot of friends to lovers novels out there, and this one did such a good job of creating that shift. I also enjoyed their differences as characters and how they were such distinct yet cohesive personalities.
I am glad to see that The Vermillion Emporium (another book by Jamie Pacton) is set in the same universe, and because this book was so wonderful, I will definitely be adding that one to my TBR list. Also this cover is GORGEOUS and I am very much looking forward to adding a physical copy of this book to my own little library!
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me an ARC of this book for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
As far as zombie stories go, the hunt for a Thank you to NetGalley for providing me an ARC of this book for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
As far as zombie stories go, the hunt for a cure is usually the focal point of the story, and that is a tired approach, in my opinion. Hearts Still Beating took an entirely different approach, which I loved! In this novel, a select few zombies (called Ticks or the Affected) have been given an experimental treatment in which they have an injection everyday that suppresses the virus so they remain in control of themselves. A select few Ticks in treatment are deemed worthy to be reintroduced to society, and obviously, the non-infected folks have big opinions about that.
The story alternates between two girls: Mara, a Tick in treatment reintroduced to society, and Rory, a non-infected girl very unhappy about the Ticks reintroduction to society. The catch is that these two had a history before the apocalypse started, so they're trying to deal with lingering feelings while navigating the complexities of the fallen world.
Both characters are very well developed, and I adored the way their story unfolded. While the reveal of the big bad villain was not a surprise, this story still kept me entertained and rooting for Mara and Rory the whole time, even when things got super iffy. I also thought the world-building was well done and explained well. From the way the virus functioned, to how the RPA and alliance between communities worked. Such an enjoyable read, and one that should be considered a fantastic and unique addition to the post-apocalyptic zombie genre.
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me an ARC of this book for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
As a fan of the original Carmilla and just vThank you to NetGalley for providing me an ARC of this book for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
As a fan of the original Carmilla and just vampires in general, this was such a welcome addition to the genre! This book distinctly felt like a love letter to the original, while adding a fun dark academia background and a more explicit sapphic relationship (definitely more explicit, like is anyone else feeling the HEAT in here or is it just me?).
The development of Carmilla and Laura's relationship was also wonderful. The enemies to lovers (or academic rivals to lovers) trope is one that is fairly uncharted territory for me because I do feel like in some circumstances it can lead to glorifying abuse from one party to another. However, this relationship did not give me any of those vibes, and I absolutely loved their chemistry!
I also really enjoyed the ending! (view spoiler)[ Sometimes more open-ended books absolutely kill me, but leaving Laura with the choice to turn at the very end felt very hopeful and not like an annoying cliffhanger like these endings often do to me. (hide spoiler)]
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