bookgabz's reviews
524 reviews

Wish You Weren't Here by Erin Baldwin

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? No

5.0

Wish You Weren’t Here by Erin Baldwin is the sapphic romance book I wish I’d had when I was in high school! This book is wholesome, funny, adorable, and the perfect love story for young adults looking to get into romance! 

 

I loved everything about this book! In the story, you are reading from Juliette Barrera-Wright’s point of view as she navigates her Senior Year of high school. She often feels invisible in every aspect of her life, until she’s at her one happy place, Fogridge Summer Camp. Her Senior Summer at Fogridge is going to be the best yet! Until she realizes there her number one least favorite person, Priya Pendley is not only at camp for the summer too, but is her roommate! 

 

What follows is a story of finding yourself, and learning that your perception of someone, or their situation, is often not what you initially believe it to be. And if you can learn to accept that and shift your understanding, wonderful things can bloom. 

House of Flame and Shadow by Sarah J. Maas

adventurous emotional hopeful tense slow-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

Let Us Descend by Jesmyn Ward

dark emotional inspiring reflective sad slow-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? No

5.0

A Tempest of Tea by Hafsah Faizal
Did not finish book. Stopped at 32%.

I have figured out that I am not a heist girly. 

Butcher & Blackbird by Brynne Weaver

dark funny lighthearted fast-paced

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

4.25

The Principle of Moments by Esmie Jikiemi-Pearson

adventurous emotional inspiring medium-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? No

3.0

Bloodmarked by Tracy Deonn

adventurous emotional medium-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

Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark

dark emotional tense 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? No

3.0

Those Beyond the Wall by Micaiah Johnson

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective tense slow-paced

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

5.0

“The night is long and dark, Rage says, but I will keep us warm.” 

 

This is just one, of MANY lyrically moving quotes I highlighted as I read through this book. One of my favorite books of 2020, and possibly my favorite Sci-fi book of all time, was The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson. So when I found out she was returning to the same world in Those Beyond the Wall, I was ecstatic! 

 

Those Beyond the Wall, however, is so much more moving, poignant, and important in a way that The Space Between Worlds wasn’t. The Author, Micaiah Johnson, states in an Author’s Note at the beginning of the story that this book was largely conceived during the sixty-two-day sit-in at Nashville’s Tennessee State Capitol in 2023. This work of art, for art is what it should be called, is so beautiful in its entirety. 

 

This story follows Mr. Scales, a runner in Ashtown that has the Emperor’s ear in a way most runners don’t. Which is a good thing because you find out early on that Mr. Scales is one of the first to experience that traveler’s are coming from parllel universes into our own Ashtown. But if those parallel universe travelers also exist in this plane, it very brutally murders the resident of this Ashtown, to make space for the parallel universe’s version of that person. You do see the reemergence of Cara and Dell from the first book, but this is wholly Scales’ story and journey. And a moving one it is. 

 

The story that follows is a beautiful representation of race, privilege, gender, and family. The family you chose, versus the family you’re born with. The privilege you’re born with, and how you can still be different and shunned for that difference. 

 

This story is one I can tell will stay with me for a lifetime. I loved every moment of this book. Make sure to pre-order this now to ensure you have your copy when it comes out on March 12! Thank you to #NetGalley and #DelRey for this ARC of #ThoseBeyondTheWall by #MicaiahJohnson in exchange for an honest review. 

Not in the Plan by Dana Hawkins

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? No

3.75

Not in the Plan is an adorable sapphic romance that pays tribute to the city of Seattle as it’s backdrop. Mack, a NYC author suffering from writer’s block, finds herself settling into a local Seattle coffee shop when on a trip to visit her parents. During this caffeine-fueled visit, she finds her muse in Charlie, the coffee shop’s owner. With her writer’s block suddenly cured by the beautiful red head, Mack finds herself befriending, and eventually falling in love with, Charlie. What follows is a heartwarming story of finding a partner that inspires you, but without losing yourself in the relationship. 

 

I loved this story as a sweet sapphic romance! I would absolutely recommend this book as a cute Valentine’s day read! Thanks to #NetGalley and #StormPublishing for a free ARC of #NotInThePlan by #DanaHawkins for an honest, spoiler-free review!