brinleywrites's reviews
233 reviews

The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

The Sun and the Star by Mark Oshiro, Rick Riordan

adventurous challenging emotional funny 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

5.0

 LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVED THIS BOOK. Nico & Will finally getting the spotlight! Amazing! Absolutley perfect for fans of Percy Jackson! 

Cleat Cute by Meryl Wilsner

adventurous emotional funny lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

Cleat Cute by Meryl Wilsner follows two professional women’s soccer players, Phoebe and Grace, as they navigate the professional sports world, pining, friends with benefits, and figuring out what they want. 

What Cleat Cute has:

⚽️ Sports!

👩‍❤️‍👩 Lesbians 🥺

🫠 Friends with benefits (kinda?)

🔱 ADHD rep!! 

👀 Some very well written spicy scenes 

Cleat Cute is fun, light hearted, romantic and just everything! If you love sapphic books and have been wanted a happy romance book, this novel is for you. I don’t want to say more because I don’t want to spoil it! Five stars! 

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review. This book will be out on September 19, 2023.

Gwen and Art Are Not in Love by Lex Croucher

adventurous emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

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

5.0

As a child, I was obsessed with the BBC’s Merlin. I used to watch so hoping that queer subtext would become canon, spoiler alert: it didn’t. 

When I read the premise of Gwen and Art Are Not In Love by Lex Croucher, I wondered if it would scratch the itch that BBC’s Merlin had long filled and boy; I was not disappointed. 

The concept of the book is simple. It’s hundreds of years after the real King Arthur died or “went on sabbatical” as some characters refer to it in the book. Gwendoline, the princess of England, hates the man she’s betrothed to marry, Arthur. The two are forced to spend the summer together at the royal seat: Camelot, to prepare for their wedding. Gwen discovers Arthur kissing a boy and Arthur discovers Gwen’s diary, which reveals her crush on the lady knight, Bridget. The two of them make a reluctant agreement to help cover for each other. With discoveries about King Arthur’s true past, falling in love, teenage shenanigans, and a plot of overthrow Gwen’s father, Gwen and Art Are Not In Love is a romantic comedy many readers are sure to love.

Characters - The main four characters of the book, Gwen, Bridget, Gabriel, and Arthur, are loveable. All four seem real and go through major character development in the book. 

Romance - The two main romantic relationships, Gwen + Bridget and Gabriel + Arthur, are both so cute. Both relationships are well developed over the book, with each character having their own set of motivations and aspects that make them real. 

I think an unexpected plot point that I loved was the characters delving into the Arthurian past. I always love it when books discuss historical queerness (for example, Alex & Henry’s emails in Red, White, & Royal Blue). I will say I am a little disappointed it wasn’t between Arthur and Merlin. 

I don’t want to write much more except this. Gwen and Art Are Not In Love by Lex Croucher is literally one of the best books I’ve read this year. 

If you love queer rom coms, grew up watching BBC’s Merlin, or just need a tale where a lady knight and a princess fall in love, this book is for you. 

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, Wednesday Books and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review. This book will be out on November 28, 2023. 

The Wicked Bargain by Gabe Cole Novoa

adventurous mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.5

Legendborn by Tracy Deonn

adventurous emotional inspiring mysterious tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan

adventurous mysterious tense medium-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

4.0

Imogen, Obviously by Becky Albertalli

emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring 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

5.0

This was a book I needed in high school and college. I’m trying not to get emotional writing this review. Imogen, Obviously was one of the best books I’ve read in years. 

Imogen Scott’s favorite movie may be But I’m a Cheerleader and own three different copies of One Last Stop (relatable) but she’s straight (right)? When visiting her friend at the college Imogen plans to attend in the fall, Imogen befriends Tessa. As Imogen feels herself gravitate more towards Tessa, she explores the question: maybe Imogen isn’t that straight after all. 

Imogen, Obviously is a fast-paced book with superb character development and representation. Each character comes to life on the page. The voice fits perfectly into YA. 

I don’t want to write much more because I don’t want to spoil this book. If you’re looking for a book with a believable sapphic romance, coming out journey, and relatable/heartfelt characters, Imogen, Obviously is for you. 

On a personal note, I again wish I had this book sooner. Seeing how Imogen processes information would have been so reassuring for me to see. I feel like I’ve screwed up so many times thinking exactly the things Imogen tells herself. Seeing how a character deals with that is so important. 

That Summer Feeling by Bridget Morrissey

emotional reflective slow-paced

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

2.5

When I read the premise of That Summer Feeling by Bridget Morrissey, the concept excited me. I wanted to love this book. A book about a sapphic romance at a summer camp for adults sounded like it was written specifically for my tastes... It wasn’t.

Garland, a recently divorced third-something, looking to start fresh and live out her summer camp dreams of her childhood. But Garland isn’t like most women, she believes in fate. At the camp, Garland runs into a man, who she randomly met at the airport when she was heading off to her honeymoon and when they met, Garland felt like she could see their future together. But instead of developing feelings for this man, Garland has a crush on his sister, Stevie. 

The implicit promise of this novel is capturing the concept of “that summer feeling.” The inexplicable feeling of running around bare-foot in your parents’ backyard. Holding hands on the dock at camp. Kissing a girl for the first time under a tree. It’s driving with the windows down as Cruel Summer by Taylor Swift plays loudly. It’s a feeling that is often impossible to recreate and capture as an adult. The book seeks to have the characters catch this feeling and have the readers feel this emotion as well. That Summer Feeling fails to do this. 

For a book identified as “adult” and a lot of the characters are canonically in their thirties, the characters read late teens to mid-twenties. The conversations and language feel stilted. I love the idea of giving characters in their thirties a spotlight. I love allowing people to find love past twenty-five, but That Summer Feeling doesn’t do that. Simply put, they don’t seem like realistic thirty-year-olds. 

The characters are flat, and I mean all the characters. For example, the Nook brothers, as I refer to them (Tim & Tommy are their real names in the book just like Timmy & Tommy from Animal Crossing), felt like caricatures with no real development. Also, Garland spent too much time thinking about the past and future rather than the present. I cannot tell you one thing about her character besides the fact that she was married, divorced, had a sister, and a bumper sticker that read “honk if you’re divorced!” I struggled to understand who she was for those reasons. The rest of the characters just felt like they were there to fill up empty space. Perhaps this is the challenge of writing a standalone book that takes place at a summer camp.

Let’s talk romance…. If I had realised this book was “instant-love,” I probably wouldn’t have requested it. The pacing of Garland and Stevie’s relationship was way too fast. As someone who loved summer camp, I understand that a single day can feel like a week (I believe this is actually something the book did well); but the rollercoaster instant speed Stevie and Garland fell in love felt too unrealistic even for summer camp. The book made one self-aware comment about “U-Hauling” (IYKYK), but a one-off comment wasn’t enough for me to suspend my disbelief. 

Again, I think the book’s main issue, besides the instant love, was its scope. The book didn’t explore any plotline with depth. Because of this lack of depth and character development, I didn’t find myself falling in love with the characters. I also struggled to keep reading this book at times. It just felt way too unrealistic and the characters often read as 16-21 to me. The concept was good, but the execution was lacking. I wouldn’t recommend this book. It was “meh.” 

Thank you to Berkley Romance and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review. This book will be out on May 30th, 2023. 

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Infidelity

A Day of Fallen Night by Samantha Shannon

adventurous challenging emotional tense 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? It's complicated

5.0