bookishjournal1's reviews
52 reviews

Must Love Familiars by R.E. Butler

hopeful lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

2.5

Instructions for Dancing by Nicola Yoon

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

This is the first book I've ready by Nicola Yoon and I absolutely fell in love with her writing style. I thought she did an amazing job bringing her characters to life and I really liked seeing Evie's relationships with her family, friends, and X develop throughout the book. I liked that the book didn't shy away from the realistic way relationships are started and sometimes ended, and I cried along with Evie when she had to deal with some of the hardships that come along with loving people. I did have some problems with pacing as I think some of the conflicts were resolved too quickly and easily by using time skips but overall I really enjoyed reading this book and can't wait to read more by Nicola Yoon.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Grief and Death

Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid

emotional funny hopeful medium-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

This is the second book I've read by Taylor Jenkins Reid after Evelyn Hugo and while I think Evelyn Hugo was better, I still stayed up till 4am reading Malibu Rising. I think from the summary I thought this book would be somewhat of a mystery using flashbacks to determine who starts the fire but in fact the flashbacks are used to showcase the history of the entire Riva family. I thought each of the family members were really fleshed out and interesting and I did like the narrative set up of having all the family drama come to a head at the family party. I do think that some of the other perspectives of the party guests was a little confusing as it sometimes was hard to keep track of who was who and I also think the ending was a little bit rushed. However, I enjoy Reid's writing so much and I just can't wait to see what else they come out with.

Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This is honestly one of my favorite books I've read. This is what I wish Narnia could have explored after the Pevensies were thrust back into the real world. I loved the concept of people finding doorways to other worlds and by some situation or another they're forced back to "our world" and have to deal with the emotional fall out. I like getting snippets from different students on how they're each dealing with their sense of not belonging while also the terrible idea that they may never return to their doorway worlds. I thought the murder plot was really scary and tense so just a heads up about that. Overall I really like McGuire's atmospheric writing style and I can't wait to read the other books.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder, and Body horror

Juliet Takes a Breath: The Graphic Novel by Gabby Rivera

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

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

3.25

Just want to preface this by saying I have not read the original book that this graphic novel is based on. However, this book is gorgeously illustrated; I absolutely loved looking at every single page. My main issue with this book is the pacing. I felt that there were some parts where it seemed to jump all over the place and the ending of the book also seemed kind of rushed. I'm not sure if there were some parts that were cut so that they could fit everything but either than that I really think they did a could job portraying a lot of issues related to racial diversity, white privilege, and lgbtqia inclusion.

Beneath the Sugar Sky by Seanan McGuire

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

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

3.75

Okay I really like Seanan McGuire's writing style. She has this really descriptive writing style that always makes me feel like I've been thrust straight into any world she creates. I liked getting to explore the world that Sumi went to but I think I would have rather actually spent time with her explaining her world instead of her daughter. I also don't really know how I feel about having Cora as the one who's thoughts we're seeing because I thought she almost faded into the background compared to the rest of the characters.

I also don't know if the plot line of them getting kidnapped by the queen really was needed to further the plot because it was over so quickly but that was probably just due to story/page limits.

Overall, I still enjoyed reading this book but I can't wait to see what the rest of the series has in store.

Act Your Age, Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective 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

4.75

I absolutely enjoy Talia Hibbert's writing so much and I really think she nailed it with the 3rd book in her Brown Sisters trilogy. I found Eve really relatable in how she has somewhat fumbled her way through life but when she finally finds something that she enjoys, she really takes ownership of it and it reminds me that we are all going at our own pace to always strive for the things that make us happy. Jacob is such a delight to read and I really like how the relationship develops between him and Eve. They both bring out such different sides of each other and I like seeing how they have each other's backs when it comes to things they may not be comfortable with. I will have to say that while I liked Chloe Brown, I think Talia Hibbert did a better job at handling the last 3rd of this book compared to that one. There are explicit sex scenes in this book just like the others so just a heads up but they're soo hot and sexy!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

I Think Our Son Is Gay, Vol. 01 by Okura

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing 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? No

4.5

This is a very warm and comforting manga read about a mother who realizes that her son is gay and she tries to subtly help him realize that she will support him if/when he decides to come out to her and the rest of the family. I thought the relationship between Hiroki and his mom was so sweet and I really liked how the author gave us some perspective into how both he and his mom reacted in different situations. I can't wait to read more books in this series and hope I'll be able to find the 2nd volume soon.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Homophobia

Radiance by Grace Draven

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing 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? No

4.75

What I Liked: I enjoyed the relationship between the two main characters so much. I found it absolutely hilarious how they both found each other so hideous but found a way to look past their looks to find that they had much more in common. I liked their banter with each other and I just overall loved how Brishen treated her with such respect and kindness and how Idilko completely had Brishen's back also. The support that they had for each other leading to their relationship growing stronger and eventually leading to love was just beautiful to see.

What Didn't Work For Me: I don't really have any major gripes with this book since I've already reread it twice since I first borrowed it but I can definitely understand the critiques some people might have of the relationship between the 2 MCs being too easy and not really having any kind of major conflict or disagreements in the beginning. 

Overall, if you want a low stakes fantasy book that features an arranged marriage, to friends, to lovers trope this book will definitely satisfy that need.

The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo

emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

3.75

What I Liked: I absolutely love Nghi Vo's writing style. I think her writing is lyrical and immersive and always seems to make me feel like I've stepped fully into each world she creates. Her writing in this book is so lush and beautiful that it makes the world of The Great Gatsby even more decadent and sinister than before. I liked how much more fleshed out all the characters are including Gatsby and Daisy even though we already seem to know them so well. Seeing Jordan Baker as a queer Vietnamese woman trying to navigate a world where she is made to feel like she doesn't belong is heartbreaking but relatable to my own experiences as well.

What Didn't Work For Me: This book was marketed as having fantasy, magical elements intertwined into the Gatsby story and while those elements are present and have some bearing on the story, I almost felt like it could have done without it. The lack of explanation of the magic system and how it works in this book made the story a little confusing at some parts. This is purely based on my own personal feelings towards it, I know some people will enjoy the story despite the magic being almost in the background.

Also, the twist at the end concerning Jordan's true parentage did not really sit right with me. I felt like there were no major emotional repercussions and that it wrapped up too neatly.

Overall, I enjoyed reading this book as it reimagines The Great Gatsby. The classic story has already been overanalyzed but having Vo's book coming to this world from a queer, immigrant, perspective was a fresh take and I can't wait to see the author's next work.