bloomed's reviews
132 reviews

Interesting Facts About Space by Emily Austin

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emotional funny informative reflective tense 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

4.75

emily austin does it again!

i loved, loved, loved everyone in this room will someday be dead, and this book scratched the exact same itch. enid is a lovable, relatable, wonderful protagonist, and watching her grow, spiral, learn about herself, and go through the ups and downs of being a person was really, genuinely great. there was just enough plot to keep me wondering what would happen next, too; it wasn’t the focus of the story by any means, but it was a really interesting (and sometimes funny, and sometimes heart-wrenching, some sometimes thrilling) hook. the romance with polly was also excellent!! i loved how weird-but-right she and enid were together, and desperately need more freakish (affectionate) lesbians like the two of them in my books.
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Kiss Her Once for Me by Alison Cochrun

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funny fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.0

the good: this is a really easy read with a pretty heart-warming story and some funny moments. the cast of characters is extremely diverse (in race, gender, neurodivergence, and sexuality) and, overall, with a few exceptions, respectfully written. i’d love to see more books with this level of inclusion, especially ones this lighthearted! even during the more fraught parts, there was a fair bit of queer joy to be found here. 
 
the so-so: some of the queer themes felt a little… introductory, like the characters were sometimes mouthpieces that were meant to explain certain identities to the reader, rather than believing the (ostensibly queer) target audience will inherently understand or have the wherewithal to educate themselves on things like, for example, demisexuality; it cropped up more often in the beginning, when the story’s foundation was being laid, but it really struck me and pulled me out of the moment every time it happened, because the characters would suddenly stop talking like actual, human people, and instead start to sound like they were speaking in clunky definitions, just to make absolutely sure that i knew what they were talking about. there were similar blips in the actual writing, where it would take a brief nosedive in (what i assume was) the author’s attempt to ensure that the reader understands what she was trying to communicate. see: the main character, ellie, often thinks of her love interest, a woman named jack, as… well, “the woman named jack”. it felt like she continually used that turn of phrase so as to avoid any confusion about jack’s gender identity, given the ambiguity of her name—but maybe it was just a stylistic quirk? either way, it bounced off of me every time it happened. 
 
the ugly: while the first fifty to seventy-five percent of this was a fun, cute, queer, christmas-y romp, the meat of the conflict that arose in the back half of the story was frustrating, to say the least. the sheer amount of miscommunication (and there is a lot of it!) just didn’t work for me, and neither did the way the characters started to behave as a result of said miscommunication. usually, it’s a trope that doesn’t bother me (in fact, #hottake, i kind of enjoy it when executed properly!), but it just didn’t land for me here. it wasn’t enough to turn me off of the story completely, but i did find myself confused at why certain characters were being nailed for their perceived bad behavior, while others were given “get out of jail free” cards, especially toward the last handful of chapters. so many things would’ve been resolved immediately if the characters sat down and talked for a few minutes, and it felt like the only reason they didn’t was to draw the story out. at a few points, i had to put the book down and remind myself that it’s not, in fact, that serious, and that i shouldn’t be getting annoyed at fictional characters being weird, irrational assholes at each other. 
 
still, this is a pretty solid 3/5 stars for me—but it would’ve been even better if it felt like the author trusted the reader to understand what she was putting down, and if the amount of miscommunication was scaled back, if only by a little bit. 
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Annie Bot by Sierra Greer

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

4.5

so, so good. like, “i read it in two sittings” good. i loved annie, and i loved watching her grow and change. the worldbuilding was also really interesting, albeit kind of light-handed!
I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy

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challenging dark emotional funny reflective fast-paced

4.25

Crushing by Genevieve Novak

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emotional funny reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

genuinely funny, and really real. also maybe the only media i’ve seen that references covid-19 in a way that doesn’t feel weird or cringey? but maybe that’s just me.
Greta & Valdin by Rebecca K Reilly

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funny hopeful reflective medium-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

4.0

a really great, quick read!

i loved all of the characters involved (greta is, maybe, a painfully relatable one…), and, just as much as that, how they were written; reilly has a really sharp, clever style that made this book compulsively readable. the sheer amount of representation and detail was also super nice to see and interesting to get a look into, respectively! really, really looking forward to both being able to shove this book at literally everybody i know *and* being able to grab a physical copy of it for my shelf.
Margo's Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe

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emotional funny hopeful reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

snappy, funny, and super heartwarming more often than not. i laughed, i teared up, i highlighted (quite literally) over one-hundred passages while i was reading. never did i ever think a book about an onlyfans girl, her newborn, and her ex-wrestler dad would touch me like this, but i’m really, really glad it did!

the only “weird” thing about the book is the way rufi thorpe swaps back and forth between different perspectives; it took me out of the book a tiny, tiny bit in the beginning, and i barely noticed it by the end, but i could see that grating at people who are particular about that sort of thing.

thanks to the publisher and netgalley for the ARC!
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Bride by Ali Hazelwood

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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

4.25

oh my god???
Ordinary Human Failings by Megan Nolan

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

4.0

a little bit of a slow start, but in the same way that it takes time for a pot of water to start to boil—it feels natural, and very, very worth the wait. 

ordinary human failings is exactly the title presents it to be: a story centered around a family, and all of their flaws and failings. told with snappy, crisp writing, it’s a quick read that goes down smoothly.

the murder mystery aspect of the story is a little thinner than i expected, but i honestly enjoyed that it was more of a character study than a crime novel. it was an interesting departure from the writing nolan did in acts of desperation, too; i really liked seeing how she braided together every family member’s trauma, and seeing how it unfolded as part of the greater story.
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They're Going to Love You by Meg Howrey

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emotional hopeful reflective medium-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

5.0

meg howrey ripped my heart apart and then stitched it back together again