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bookishvicky's reviews
128 reviews
Vampire Weekend by Mike Chen
3.25
I loved the MC, and the world building around vampires in this lore was fun but could have been more. No one is as fleshed out as Ian and Louise, and I’d love to know more about Eric and Serena.
The plot— not there. things just sort of happened without conflict until the very end— where the main threat was IMMEDIATELY eliminated easily nothing to look forward to in this book.
The pacing was a little slow, and the flashback scenes got lost in the present tense, making it hard to read sometimes.
I did like the central theme, and the use of music references was fun. All in all, a fine read, but not nearly as vampire or punk rock as I would have liked.
The plot— not there. things just sort of happened without conflict until the very end— where the main threat was IMMEDIATELY eliminated easily nothing to look forward to in this book.
The pacing was a little slow, and the flashback scenes got lost in the present tense, making it hard to read sometimes.
I did like the central theme, and the use of music references was fun. All in all, a fine read, but not nearly as vampire or punk rock as I would have liked.
The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston
4.25
Cute little romance, loved the cameos from the couple in the dead romantics
Alondra by Gina Femia
2.0
I wanted to love this so bad but holy shit I couldn’t. To preface: I’m a wrestling fan. Been one since I was a little kid. I’m also bisexual. So this book was like everything I ever wanted right?
WRONG.
Let’s start with Alonda. I loved her character, but I feel like we barely know her, let alone the entire cast. I didn’t care about any of them, didn’t care about the romances, didn’t care about their journeys because I didn’t know them!
Next. There was no clear plot. Things just happened. The dialogue was very “how do you do, fellow teens?” Which is fine for YA I guess?
NEXT. the wrestling gimmicks— Jesus. I only liked Spider’s. Lexi had a Hurricane thing going, but using “powers” in the ring? You’ll never be Danhausen. And that indie wrestler was right! This shit is DANGEROUS if you don’t know what you’re doing! I love the concept of doing it with friends but truly any of them could have snapped their necks a la Daniel Bryan, I don’t want teens reading this and trying it but that’s the least of my worries.
Onto the wrestling References. Give the indies some love please. WWE is not the end all be all. And AJ Lee?! Really? Is it 2012? Alexa Bliss is a way more modern “short girl wrestler” reference AND she’s arguably more interesting for “new wrestlers” given how her gimmick changed and evolved with her skill.
Okay. TLDR— this idea was amazing, the execution was NOT IT. And that’s the bottom line, because stone cold said so. ((I’m so sorry this is scathing, I’m just being honest))
WRONG.
Let’s start with Alonda. I loved her character, but I feel like we barely know her, let alone the entire cast. I didn’t care about any of them, didn’t care about the romances, didn’t care about their journeys because I didn’t know them!
Next. There was no clear plot. Things just happened. The dialogue was very “how do you do, fellow teens?” Which is fine for YA I guess?
NEXT. the wrestling gimmicks— Jesus. I only liked Spider’s. Lexi had a Hurricane thing going, but using “powers” in the ring? You’ll never be Danhausen. And that indie wrestler was right! This shit is DANGEROUS if you don’t know what you’re doing! I love the concept of doing it with friends but truly any of them could have snapped their necks a la Daniel Bryan, I don’t want teens reading this and trying it but that’s the least of my worries.
Onto the wrestling References. Give the indies some love please. WWE is not the end all be all. And AJ Lee?! Really? Is it 2012? Alexa Bliss is a way more modern “short girl wrestler” reference AND she’s arguably more interesting for “new wrestlers” given how her gimmick changed and evolved with her skill.
Okay. TLDR— this idea was amazing, the execution was NOT IT. And that’s the bottom line, because stone cold said so. ((I’m so sorry this is scathing, I’m just being honest))
The Coldest Touch by Isabel Sterling
3.0
The plot was everywhere, the pacing was..something..the only character I cared about was Claire and that’s only because she’s an angst lesbian vampire. Weird ending, felt like a “fix it” fic. Liked the unique vampire lore, definitely set up for a sequel, don’t care about the side characters, this was a book.
Sign Here by Claudia Lux
3.75
I wanted to enjoy this. I really did. But the pacing was so off— even though the final 100 pages were an amazing whirlwind of twists that I couldn’t put down, the first 3 quarters was dry, confusing, and left me wanting more. I see the intention here, but the execution was off. But the ending— OOF. I loved that ending.
And the way they did hell was actually a refreshing take, but I wish I knew more. Also, I couldn’t care about the characters bc we didn’t know them really :/ I just needed More. Solid read though.
And the way they did hell was actually a refreshing take, but I wish I knew more. Also, I couldn’t care about the characters bc we didn’t know them really :/ I just needed More. Solid read though.
The Merciless by Danielle Vega
Did not finish book. Stopped at 0%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 0%.
Pacing was so fast. Characters were bland. Stunk of cliche high school nonsense. Too much going on. Pretty cover tho
My Roommate Is a Vampire by Jenna Levine
3.75
It was funny but didn’t hook me :/ stuff felt unfinished, characters felt flat, the conflict was rushed at the end. Still funny at some points but not very vampire-y