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amanduhhhpls's reviews
492 reviews
The Senator's Wife by Jen Lyon
5.0
THIS IS HOW YOU WRITE A SAPPHIC LOVE STORY OMG. The cliffhanger?!?! UGH. Moving on to book two immediately.
House of Cards x Cleat Cute x sapphic age gap romance
I am in love with Catharine and Alex equally I want them both to be happy 🥹
House of Cards x Cleat Cute x sapphic age gap romance
I am in love with Catharine and Alex equally I want them both to be happy 🥹
Dogs of Summer by Andrea Abreu
5.0
I put this book down last summer because of distractions, and I completely regret not picking it back up until now because it was BRILLIANT.
This is an absolute feat of translation. The way that this specific Spanish dialect and the fact that the narrator is a child and therefore has a language all her own, full of misunderstandings and nicknames and literalisms, are blended is nothing short of miraculous. This was so immersive because of the way the language forces you to attention and sinks you into the story.
The disgusting, sapphic, oppressive nature of girlhood is on full display here. There are lines and paragraphs that are so descriptive in a way that made my skin crawl with the bluntness. I highlighted this to all hell. I am obsessed with the perspective of this unnamed girl who is trying to navigate her friendships, her relationships with family and random townsfolk, and the oppressive and claustrophobic setting of her home. Her perspective is so raw, so honest it hurts. The ending of this made me gasp out loud.
I'm now searching for books that are a specific comp for this because I want to feel this way reading again. This is my summer book recommendation for everyone that likes a fucked up story about girlhood.
This is an absolute feat of translation. The way that this specific Spanish dialect and the fact that the narrator is a child and therefore has a language all her own, full of misunderstandings and nicknames and literalisms, are blended is nothing short of miraculous. This was so immersive because of the way the language forces you to attention and sinks you into the story.
The disgusting, sapphic, oppressive nature of girlhood is on full display here. There are lines and paragraphs that are so descriptive in a way that made my skin crawl with the bluntness. I highlighted this to all hell. I am obsessed with the perspective of this unnamed girl who is trying to navigate her friendships, her relationships with family and random townsfolk, and the oppressive and claustrophobic setting of her home. Her perspective is so raw, so honest it hurts. The ending of this made me gasp out loud.
I'm now searching for books that are a specific comp for this because I want to feel this way reading again. This is my summer book recommendation for everyone that likes a fucked up story about girlhood.
The Revenant Games by Margie Fuston
4.0
I read this because Stephanie Garber recommended it on her Instagram stories, and it is exactly what you can expect from that
Vampires, witches, humans stuck in the middle, oh my! Is this a bunch of tropes held together with decent writing? Yes. Did I eat it up? Also yes.
I just love a human girl falling for a dangerous vampire, and I love when that vampire isn't 100 years old but is instead maybe 25 or so. I also love a sister relationship, and there was (sort of) one in here that I'm excited to see explored more in the second installment.
Already added to my list of books I need to pick the sequel up for immediately when available.
Vampires, witches, humans stuck in the middle, oh my! Is this a bunch of tropes held together with decent writing? Yes. Did I eat it up? Also yes.
I just love a human girl falling for a dangerous vampire, and I love when that vampire isn't 100 years old but is instead maybe 25 or so. I also love a sister relationship, and there was (sort of) one in here that I'm excited to see explored more in the second installment.
Already added to my list of books I need to pick the sequel up for immediately when available.
Faebound by Saara El-Arifi
2.0
I don't think I read the same book everyone else was reading, because what was that. This was an adult fantasy book that read too much like YA, especially on account of the characters. You're telling me that these are all grown adults, military leaders, supposed to be the best of the best and the most logical and diplomatic and etc etc but their dialogue sounds like THAT??! Nah. Absolutely no chemistry between any of these characters, the plot was so incredibly boring, and the world is severely underdeveloped.
With the upmost respect, this needed an editor. There were so many places where I got lost as to where our characters were because of the authors lack of ability to immerse me in the world. I often was confused about where someone was standing/sitting/why they were taking the actions that they were in the moment. The action was convoluted, the dialogue was stilted, and there were so many repetitive lines that I got bored of reading. There were also sentences that just full-on needed a re-write. I cannot believe half of this made it past an editor.
Save your time and read some actual adult fantasy, and not three YA fantasy book outlines in a trenchcoat.
With the upmost respect, this needed an editor. There were so many places where I got lost as to where our characters were because of the authors lack of ability to immerse me in the world. I often was confused about where someone was standing/sitting/why they were taking the actions that they were in the moment. The action was convoluted, the dialogue was stilted, and there were so many repetitive lines that I got bored of reading. There were also sentences that just full-on needed a re-write. I cannot believe half of this made it past an editor.
Save your time and read some actual adult fantasy, and not three YA fantasy book outlines in a trenchcoat.
Heartless Hunter by Kristen Ciccarelli
5.0
I don't care if this was just a collection of tropes because it was a well written collection of tropes and I had fun!!!
Tore through this in a day, dying for the finish duology because I need to know what happens!!!
Tore through this in a day, dying for the finish duology because I need to know what happens!!!
Green Frog by Gina Chung
3.5
Story Ratings:
* denotes a favorite
* denotes a favorite
How to Eat Your Own Heart - 3
Green Frog - 4
After the Party - 4
*Rabbit Heart - 4
*Presence - 5
Human Hearts - 4
Mantis - 3
The Sound of Water - 3.5
Attachment Processes - 3.5
The Arrow - 4
Names for Fireflies - 3.5
Honey and Sun - 3
You’ll Never Know How Much I Loved You - 2
The Fruits of Sin - 3
*The Love Song of the Mexican Free Tailed Bat - 4
Themes:
- motherhood/pregnancy
- family obligation through marriage, the type of job you pursue, or taking care of a family business/ailing elders
- growing up and finally understanding your mother
- grandparents + grief
- grief + the blessing/curse of memory
- the relationship between daughter and mother
- sapphic yearning
Song of the Huntress by Lucy Holland
3.0
This is one of those books that in theory I should have loved, but I was let down by in execution. The prose in this was too purple to be 400 pages long, and a lot of the relationship building and plot got lost in pages and pages of needless description. Unfortunately, this was a bit of a slog to get through.
None of This Is True by Lisa Jewell
3.0
Confirmation that no matter how good the ratings are, the thriller genre (specifically domestic thrillers) are not for me
So Let Them Burn by Kamilah Cole
4.0
Rating this four stars even though my personal enjoyment of this was lower (more like a 2.5 or 3), I really am glad stories like this exist and I hope this finds a solid YA audience. This is definitely written on the younger side of YA, and the themes are surface level and simplistic. The world-building isn't intense or complicated, and in some parts it felt sparse to me because I'm used to reading adult fantasy. The plot moved quickly and none of the problems felt like they had real stakes. There was a lot of overpowered/unclear magic that seemed to have no limits.
All that being said, this was clearly written for someone much younger than me that has read much less fantasy and experienced less about the real world than me. These lessons are not written for an almost 27 year old, they're written for a 12 year old.
Things I loved:
- Jamaican folklore in the magic system/worldbuilding
- dragons! I never get sick of them
- the sisterly relationship between the three sisters and how realistic it was
- the very casual lesbian representation of one of the sisters -- there's no struggle, no coming out, she's just a lesbian and it's the least interesting thing about her
All that being said, this was clearly written for someone much younger than me that has read much less fantasy and experienced less about the real world than me. These lessons are not written for an almost 27 year old, they're written for a 12 year old.
Things I loved:
- Jamaican folklore in the magic system/worldbuilding
- dragons! I never get sick of them
- the sisterly relationship between the three sisters and how realistic it was
- the very casual lesbian representation of one of the sisters -- there's no struggle, no coming out, she's just a lesbian and it's the least interesting thing about her