_serena_'s reviews
181 reviews

Juniper & Thorn by Ava Reid

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

"We had risked tiny rebellions before...but never something so large and illicit and wrong. This rebellion was like a book with all its pages torn out. I did not know it s beginning, middle, or end."

The beginning of this was quite slow, but I still found it intriguing. I just love Reid's writing style. It has such a way of drawing me into a magical world and keeping me there. I forget everything around me and get consumed by the worlds she writes about.

I would definitely check out the content warnings on this one before you go in. I did not look at them and I wish I had. Just to give me a little heads up on some things. It wasn't so bad that it was unfinishable for me, I just should have been more mentally prepared for some parts. 

I will continue to read Reid's works. She's just an auto-read author for me at this point. 

Not Like Other Girls by Meredith Adamo

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

Teenagers can be so cruel!

I really enjoyed this! The narrator was perfect for this story. This was a fun thriller and despite the casts young age, the stakes were still high and relatively fast paced. 

It’s sad to know that these kinds of things really do happen. Leaking nudes, dismissing young people’s trauma and troubles. 

Jo Hyphen Lynn has been through too much at her young age, a lot of her peers have. I’m satisfied with the ending of this, I think it wrapped up nicely. I think Jo had a lot of good development. I’m glad she finally got some closure too. 

A Botanical Daughter by Noah Medlock

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

Mexican Gothic meets Frankenstein meets What Moves the Dead. 

This queer, gothic horror surprised me! I loved how methodical the beginning was, the botanical process and explanations. 

Simon and Gregor’s relationship with their creation develops nonstop throughout the story. 

I loved how much Jenny grew as their housekeeper and new found family member. 

I’m still kind of reeling over the plant sex though. I knew it was coming from the content warnings, but I was still a little taken aback. It was beautifully written though like the rest of the story.

The majority of the story is a slow paced process. I didn’t expect the fast paced ending, but I think it all wrapped up very nicely. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Suicide, Death, and Homophobia

The Guncle Abroad by Steven Rowley

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

This takes place five years after The Guncle. Grant and Maise may be five years older but they’re still children. Children that have had to grow up too fast. 
GUP is here to teach the kids love languages instead of Guncle Rules - but there are some good throwbacks to the classic Guncle Rules!
I loved this second chance romance. Personally, I do not know what it’s like to be a child and watch your parent remarry, but I imagine that it feels a lot like what this book described. I thought it was handled beautifully and continued building on everyone’s journey through grief. 
I feel like we got a lot of time with Maise in this one and it felt very relatable to being a tween/teen. I know Grantelope is still a young kid, but sometimes I forgot there were five years between him in the last book and this one. He still felt very young to me, but maybe that’s just his personality. I thought I felt a lot more growth from Maise. 
I’m very proud of Patrick for embracing his fear of loss and loneliness. Not just loss through death but also loss in new relationships, changing relationships. That fear of not being someone’s favorite person anymore. 

“There are a thousand ways that love ends, but there is only one way it begins and that’s by opening your heart to another.”

The Princess and the Grilled Cheese Sandwich by Deya Muniz

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

Let me live in the land of Fondue, eat grilled cheese sandwiches and cuddle with my dog Gouda!

This was the cutest story ever! Omg I loved it so much!!!

We Free the Stars by Hafsah Faizal
Did not finish book. Stopped at 12%.

I really enjoyed the first one and I’m interested to see how this story ends. I just wasn’t in the mood for it by the time my library hold came in. I’ll try again another time. 

Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law by Mary Roach

informative lighthearted slow-paced

I enjoyed the lighthearted sometimes comical way Roach talked about these topics. 

A lot of this is a reminder of how much humans mess with nature. Sure these animals are getting in the way of human activities and “breaking the law” but we’re encroaching on their habitat. 

I’m definitely interested in taking a look at some of Roach’s other work!

Sentenced to Murder by Sue Minix

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

This was a fun small town murder mystery.
You'd think in a town where everyone knows everything there'd be no mystery, but that also means that no one wants to talk.
Our FMC, Jen, is a writer and bookstore owner (goals, girl lol), but suddenly gets swept into this case of wrongful conviction that gets more complicated the more she digs into it.

At times I felt the cast of characters was too big, that there were a few characters that were in so few scenes that I didn't think they really added much substance to the story. Overall, it was a fun read. I think this falls into the "cozy-mystery" genre. It's not a super high stakes, action packed thriller - it has some action and some tense moments, but it's definitely more a fun, cozy vibe. 

It's one of those mysteries that you take all the legal/police work with a grain of salt. As they say, it's not like it is on TV - it's definitely not like it is in this book.

Unfortunately, I did not solve the mystery until it was revealed haha. I felt like I had a few pieces of the puzzle, but not the whole story! There were some unexpected twists that really kept me going!

Powerless by Lauren Roberts

adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

Well, I finished the book. It was an easy read. But I don’t think it was good. 
I know so many of you loved this and I love that for you! It just wasn’t for me. 

It was literally The Hunger Games but give them magical powers. 
Everyone raved about the banter, but I didn’t like the banter at all. It was kind of cringy to me. She just threatens to stab him a lot? 

Also, the dual POV didn’t add anything to the story. It was often the same scene over and over just from the other POV. Very little felt added. 

The inner monologues were too much. In my opinion, you do not need to explain every single tiny thought a character has. Their actions and the storytelling should be able to portray their thoughts. An inner monologue is necessary from time to time, but this book was just -  *character does an action* *inner monologue on action* *inner monologue on what the follow up action should be* *does follow up action* - it was exhausting. 

I can understand the hype this book has because it’s an easy, bingeable book. I just clearly was not the target audience. 

Solitaire by Alice Oseman

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

Honestly I find the plot of this pretty strange. I did enjoy getting to see more of Tori’s personal life and thoughts though. I enjoyed her character a lot in Heartstopper so it was nice to find out she had her own story from before Heartstopper.