apenguinkeeper's reviews
483 reviews

Otherworldly by F.T. Lukens

5.0

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: FT can not write a bad book. They just can’t.

When Ellery died, the way I had to sit up in English class and try not to literally explode because what was that

The sibling bond between Ellery and Charley is amazing I would kill to have what they have

Idk they’re all just so sweet and the characters in their novels are always the best and I can’t forget any of them(well… maybe their names but never the place they have in my heart)

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

5.0

It's hard to make coherent thoughts right now, to be honest.

I love them so much. Ari is so me, and I love Dante, they're all amazing, and these boys parents are the best people in the entire history of the world.

When Ari beat up Julian I shouldn't have been smiling but dude that felt good even for me.

Again I LOVE ARI'S PARENTS AHHHHH

AND I LOVE DANTE'S PARENTS AHHHHH

Not Ari's parents having to rescue this little gay boy from himself like please you're in denial just get it together

I need to buy this book for myself now because the amount of times I'm ready to read this over again because of the last scene and Ari rescuing Dante over and over again and his DENIAL OMG IT'LL GET ME EVERY TIME

At the End of the River Styx by Michelle Kulwicki

5.0

THE WAY THIS BOOK MADE ME FEEL

it’s like if The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, They Both Die at the End, and The Song of Achilles all had a child together. It’s absolutely perfect.

I honestly wasnt expecting this to be the one that got me out of my slump. I was throwing things at the wall, guessing what mood I’m in, and hey, turns out a tragic tale of two gay boys was the one.

But like… HE DID NOT GIVE UP another 500 YEARS!!! ZAN YOU KILL ME ILY SO MUCH

I don’t think I’ve ever loved two characters more to be honest. And

the use of the memories as an element in this novel was ABSOLUTELY PERFECT. The author really used all their opportunities for the mechanism and it hit every time.

Safe to say I will now be reading all her books because if it’s anything like this one… it’s gonna be another 5 star. I could rant about this book all day. All week. No, all month.

The Hand on the Wall by Maureen Johnson

4.75

Even though all the individual books in this series aren’t a 5 star for me, the whole thing is a 5 star trilogy.

I love Stevie so much, she’s awesome and she’s complex and she’s such a nerd. David… it took me awhile to like you… but you’re awesome and if you ever hurt her-

Also THE REVEAL???

CALL ME CHARLES? Honestly I see it but like come on it had to be the guy named Charles

The Vanishing Stair by Maureen Johnson

4.25

I do love this series and everything is tying together so well. I love the characters and the MYSTERY IS COMING TOGETHER!

The only thing I will say is I feel this trilogy so far could at least have been pulled into one or two books, if everything was condensed a little more. That’s not a huge deal though because hey more content!

The Heir by Kiera Cass

3.5

As everyone has told me, this book is incomparable to the original trilogy. This is correct.

I mean, it was good, don’t get me wrong. I just felt like there was SO MUCH “I’m not like other girls” energy in this book. It would’ve been fine if Eadlyn maybe was aroace, but she’s just so against marriage and love I got tired of it. And there wasn’t much character development of that, I bet it happens in the second book but Eadlyn did not change the entire first one. It feels like I’ve only read the first half of a novel.

She Gets the Girl by Alyson Derrick, Rachael Lippincott

3.25

The whole Cora-Molly plot felt sooo dragged out, and I know that was the point, but we needed time for the main romance. The main romance felt way too rushed, and I needed more of it. I did find myself kicking my feet and giggling and the ending though, so… it gets a lot of extra points for that.

The Reappearance of Rachel Price by Holly Jackson

5.0

HOLLY JACKSON DID IT AGAIN YALL

I don’t even know if I can find the words to explain how absolutely thrilling this book was. The whiplash. The confusion. The eventual realization and equal shock to wonder factors. THIS IS WHY PEOPLE WRITE.

Carter being Bel’s sister is the best arc I couldn’t asked for. Also… Rachel full well ready to lock Charlie up for fifteen years?? What a moment.

Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

4.75

STOP THIS WAS SO GOOD.

The amount of smut in the beginning threw me off but at the same time I feel like the contrast between the smut and the absolutely adorable cute parts shows the different sides of a relationship, so I'm okay with that.

WHEN HENRY STANDS UP TO HIS GRANDMOTHER THE WAY I WAS SCREAMING WITH VINDICATION??

I live for this book and these characters and I will never forget y'all because boy would we be better off with Claremont as a president. Anyway, I digress.

The Stolen Heir by Holly Black

3.75

I was in a debilitating reading slump when I started this book, so  it’s not Stolen Heir’s fault. It’s also been a while since I read the original trilogy so jumping into it was a little difficult.

I picked it back up about halfway through a couple days ago, now out of the slump, and it was amazing. THE ROMANCE. THE DRAMA. THE BETRAYAL. And I finally understood what was going on instead of blacking out every few pages so that’s good news.