alicia_ann_reads's reviews
481 reviews

The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix

adventurous dark funny mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

This book was great! I don't often read horroresque but this one sucked me in.

The narrator did such a great job especially during some of the cringier scenes.. ie bugs. Blech.

Liked the twist on vampires, and the rag tag crew of women coming together. 

The Wiener Across the Way by Amy Award

funny lighthearted fast-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

4.75

This review is purely vibes. I listened to the audiobook, I enjoyed book one as a great little piece of fluff and naturally picked up book 2...

Nobody told me this was a Travis and Taylor fan fic! Amazing! It was cute and quirky and just what I needed for the drive home! 

The Bone Spindle by Leslie Vedder

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

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

4.25

Really enjoyed the start of these series. A Gender bent sleeping beauty retelling?? 

Magic and curses and quests and fights? Yes please! 

Easy Tiger by Ali K. Mulford

emotional funny lighthearted fast-paced

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

5.0

Okay I really enjoyed book 1 of this series but I absolutely LOVED Hawk and Hannah's story!

I cried a few times and laughed out loud many times! Their banter was great and Hannah's neurospicy personality was spot on! 

Plus the spice was excellent as expected.

Can't wait for the next book in the series! 

Devil of the Deep by Falencia Jean-Francois
Did not finish book. Stopped at 16%.

I'm going to try again with my eyes but the audiobook is not doing it for me and I'm not remotely invested.

Well-Read Black Girl: Finding Our Stories, Discovering Ourselves by Glory Edim

informative inspiring medium-paced

4.0

A Tempest of Tea by Hafsah Faizal

adventurous dark mysterious tense 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

4.0

I was a bit confused at the beginning of this, we've got multiple POVs which I love but the narrator's voice pretty much sounded the same for many of the characters, so that was tough.

It really picked up at the 70% mark and was very action packed and had some nice twists I enjoyed. 

The Stars Too Fondly by Emily Hamilton

adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced

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

3.0

A Solid 3 stars.

Admittedly it took me awhile to get through, like months, but mostly because I was struggling to read with my eyes lately.

The good news was the book was funny and snarky and it was really easy to pick up after putting it down for days at a time. 

I loved the concept, a sapphic ROM com set in space with interdimensional travel and cool magical abilities? Cool!

The romance was..meh I did not feel like it had much substance, and (spoiler) I wish the hologram was somehow controlled by Billie somehow because I personally felt a little weirded out by it all.

The novel was very YA coded until the second to last chapter when it was decidedly adult. 

This was an alright read for me.
Thanks to netgalley for the advanced copy. 

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

challenging informative medium-paced

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

3.75

I ultimately really enjoyed the villain origin story, but it was really slow and long? 
. read it via audiobook which helped the pacing it was also a little confusing at times.

The romance was.. weird? And it broke down super weird at the end?

I'm actually really interested to watch the movie.

Barbarian Mine by Ruby Dixon

3.0