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bookishbatz's reviews
912 reviews
Escape From St Hell: My Trans Life Levels Up by Lewis Hancox
emotional
funny
informative
fast-paced
5.0
Find Him Where You Left Him Dead by Kristen Simmons
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
3.0
I keep seeing this book compared to Jumanji and it definitely gave me Jumanji vibes. I loved the Japanese folklore and horror elements and I also really enjoyed the ace/demi rep in this. The way the MCs navigated the challenges really felt like playing through a video game, which i very much enjoyed! This was a very fast paced story from the get go, which I normally love, but this felt like it was all over the place. It was a fun reading but I think it just needed a bit more foundation in establishing the story at the beginning and more structure throughout.
Whalefall by Daniel Kraus
adventurous
slow-paced
2.0
A teenager works through his daddy issues inside a whale and befriends an octopus beak along the way.
The Unfortunate Side Effects of Heartbreak and Magic by Breanne Randall
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
When this was described as Practical Magic meets Gilmore Girls, it immediately peaked my interest. Boy, was I in for the biggest disappointment. Maybe the magic aspects were similar to practical magic and I did not get Gilmore girl vibes at all. The vibes I did get, however, were overtly Christian/conservative overtones through out the whole thing.
Fledgling by Octavia E. Butler
Did not finish book. Stopped at 11%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 11%.
Octavia's writing is phenomenal and was completely on board with the story, but I just can't deal with the 30 something man having sex with a 11 year old. Mind, she's a 53 year old vampire, it was just too much for me and just completely put me off the whole book.
Everything I Learned About Racism I Learned in School by Tiffany Jewell
informative
medium-paced
5.0
Not in Love by Ali Hazelwood
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Thanks to Berkley and Netgalley for the eARC!
I was nervous going into this one even though I'm already a huge Ali Hazelwood fan. I knew going in that this one was going to be tonally different from her other titles and the fact that this book is much heavier with the spice (I'm very indifferent when it comes to spice in books but if it ends up being too much and not a lot of other plot for me to focus one, I'll quickly lose interest)but I was pleasantly surprised. I loved the fmc, Rue, and the way her social anxiety & her childhood trauma was dealt with (also, she was actually tall!). As for Eli, it did take me a good while to warm up to him. Sometimes i found his chapters annoying but necessary as you got more insight for the science/career plot of the book. I could've lived without knowing his lustful thoughts on Rue (look I get it dude, but like it was excessive) but towards the end, he did win me over. I did struglle with the first half of the book because it was so heavy on the spice but then once the career subplot started to come together and the feels started happening (lol, I'm trying so hard not to spoil, forgive me!). This book did deal with heavier topics that I thought were done pretty well and there was a bit of Ali's humor present in this but not as much as I would've liked. I wouldn't say this is one of my favorites but I did end up really liking it more than I thought I would.
I was nervous going into this one even though I'm already a huge Ali Hazelwood fan. I knew going in that this one was going to be tonally different from her other titles and the fact that this book is much heavier with the spice (I'm very indifferent when it comes to spice in books but if it ends up being too much and not a lot of other plot for me to focus one, I'll quickly lose interest)but I was pleasantly surprised. I loved the fmc, Rue, and the way her social anxiety & her childhood trauma was dealt with (also, she was actually tall!). As for Eli, it did take me a good while to warm up to him. Sometimes i found his chapters annoying but necessary as you got more insight for the science/career plot of the book. I could've lived without knowing his lustful thoughts on Rue (look I get it dude, but like it was excessive) but towards the end, he did win me over. I did struglle with the first half of the book because it was so heavy on the spice but then once the career subplot started to come together and the feels started happening (lol, I'm trying so hard not to spoil, forgive me!). This book did deal with heavier topics that I thought were done pretty well and there was a bit of Ali's humor present in this but not as much as I would've liked. I wouldn't say this is one of my favorites but I did end up really liking it more than I thought I would.