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cottageivy's reviews
41 reviews
Intimate Stranger by Laura DeHart Young
dark
reflective
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? It's complicated
2.5
i picked up this book at a thrift store a couple of years ago because it was the first lesbian book i’d ever seen at a thrift store. i was intrigued by the back cover but the plot ended up a lot different than i thought.
i liked the way they showed how good at scamming tray was. i needed a quick read to get out of a reading slump and i finished it so maybe it worked? i feel like the jan and cole relationship ended weird, they shouldn’t have gotten back together. but!! jackson and coles friendship was really fucking sweet! best part of the book honestly. i’ll probably donate this book tho ngl lol
Content Warnings
Minor: Hate crime
Ophelia After All by Racquel Marie
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
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? Yes
5.0
Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
dark
emotional
funny
sad
slow-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? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction and Drug use
They Never Learn by Layne Fargo
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
thoroughly enjoyed this book! finished reading it on a 60 degree rainy fall day outside which is honestly the prime environment to read it in. the twist about carly being scarlett was genuinely so well done i didn’t see it coming. absolutely genius. the ending being a win for the girls and the sapphics is amazing.
i would reread this again honestly it’s such good read. i love women killers killing awful men <3
i would reread this again honestly it’s such good read. i love women killers killing awful men <3
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Violence
Moderate: Sexual assault
The Taking of Jake Livingston by Ryan Douglass
adventurous
dark
emotional
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? It's complicated
4.0
i liked this book a lot! i related to jake a lot, even with some differences in experiences, a lot of his lines and feelings hit close to home lol. the plot was cool! i do feel like the ghost/spirits rules were a little confusing, but overall i did like the lore. the turning point for jake to feel strong enough to defeat sawyer was little weak, felt like he hit rock bottom and it just took a pep talk from his dead grandpa to get him up. i do like that they included the power of like seeing your ancestors stand up for you which i like in supernatural stuff, i just feel like they should’ve added more for his rise up moment. overall liked it, lowkey felt like a movie, but in a good way. i will say this was recced to me as part romance part ghost stuff, it is 99% ghost stuff, allister was cool and i liked him but he had a tiny part in the plot, which isn’t a bad thing, just unexpected.
overall, i love jake and the plot as a whole, there were just some weak points that could’ve been fixed if the book was a little longer
overall, i love jake and the plot as a whole, there were just some weak points that could’ve been fixed if the book was a little longer
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, and Mass/school shootings
The Lost Girls by Sonia Hartl
hopeful
reflective
relaxing
sad
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? It's complicated
4.5
i liked this a lot! it was a fun autumnal read, and the overall premise was executed well and in an interesting way! even tho the book is on the shorter side, and therefore the pacing is pretty fast, it gets you to really feel the bond between holly, ida and rose! like their relationship did develop which is hard to do with fast pacing but they managed to pull it off! i will say, holly and parker was a little too fast, but also, love at first sight and being drawn to a person is something i can vibe with, and they were cute so i can excuse it. (this is also coming from someone who absolutely loved first kill with a burning passion, so as you can see i do enjoy fast love too lol. just something to note if it’s not your thing)
also !! loved the revenge story line. elton was so hateable. i also love how they never had the characters shame parker for falling for his lies and facade, and despite the clock ticking, were sympathetic to her taking a bit to truly get it. it was really well done i liked that :)
i will say the lore is well thought out and makes sense, however there isn’t much explanation given for how they know it other than that rose and ida having studied ways to do it for a long ass time since they’re older, and we go into it with rose and ida already having a very well backed theory about how to kill elton. you just kinda have to believe them, which is fine for me, and benefits the plot by not taking up pages of just them researching, especially since we’re in hollys pov and she is apart of none of the discover that they do, even when she knows them. i think it’s a bonus for the pacing, but if you like that part and want more detailed lore, that might be a turn off. this story is here to just show them gathering supplies and then figuring out plans, and it does that well!
i will say the mental aging thing was a lil confusing the way it was described, but i think it meant like. they were 16/the age they were mentally and didn’t grow mentally, but still grew as people and picked up slang and shit. like their life experiences impacted them while staying mentally 16 still. but i get that’s such a tricky thing to make sense and i think the way they showed it made more sense than the bit they tried to explain it in. i was good with it tho
i also love how they didn’t have the vampires too human-y? like there was a distance between humans and vampires and it was felt, and their morals were different. even tho holly was more connected to her humanity the way we see it bc she killed only sleazy guys until the bank teller but. she felt like not quite guilt over it? and i really like how they handled that kill too. it wasn’t like human guilt, but she didn’t suddenly relish it. but she wasn’t all high and mighty when her friends didnt abide by her moral code, and didnt judge them. they felt like actual vampires, who had different views on time and life like you’d expect vampires to have, while also feeling sympathetic. idas art projects were fun aksbsjs
overall such a fun book, i LOVED the ending i kinda saw it coming with parker losing her memories and the fact that they made an emphasis on holly honoring her promise to burn the bangle, but i was honestly half expecting them to not go through with parker actually losing her memories and resetting the progress in their relationship, but it was actually super cool and i was happy they did it bc it felt natural and i feel like it set up something beautiful, yet open ended. i love it
it was such a nice starter to my spooky season book list, i read it in one sitting, highly recommend for a fun read with a cool message about memories and time :)
also !! loved the revenge story line. elton was so hateable. i also love how they never had the characters shame parker for falling for his lies and facade, and despite the clock ticking, were sympathetic to her taking a bit to truly get it. it was really well done i liked that :)
i will say the lore is well thought out and makes sense, however there isn’t much explanation given for how they know it other than that rose and ida having studied ways to do it for a long ass time since they’re older, and we go into it with rose and ida already having a very well backed theory about how to kill elton. you just kinda have to believe them, which is fine for me, and benefits the plot by not taking up pages of just them researching, especially since we’re in hollys pov and she is apart of none of the discover that they do, even when she knows them. i think it’s a bonus for the pacing, but if you like that part and want more detailed lore, that might be a turn off. this story is here to just show them gathering supplies and then figuring out plans, and it does that well!
i will say the mental aging thing was a lil confusing the way it was described, but i think it meant like. they were 16/the age they were mentally and didn’t grow mentally, but still grew as people and picked up slang and shit. like their life experiences impacted them while staying mentally 16 still. but i get that’s such a tricky thing to make sense and i think the way they showed it made more sense than the bit they tried to explain it in. i was good with it tho
i also love how they didn’t have the vampires too human-y? like there was a distance between humans and vampires and it was felt, and their morals were different. even tho holly was more connected to her humanity the way we see it bc she killed only sleazy guys
overall such a fun book, i LOVED the ending
it was such a nice starter to my spooky season book list, i read it in one sitting, highly recommend for a fun read with a cool message about memories and time :)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Blood, and Death
I Kissed a Girl by Jennet Alexander
lighthearted
mysterious
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
4.25
was really really cute! i’ll probably reread it too. it’s a light read with some good bisexual rep! the stalker story felt a little less thought out, but it didn’t do anything to hinder the book. the reveal was predictable enough that even i guessed it (i don’t really try to figure out mystery people when reading unless it’s a mystery book but i easily guessed it here) but not in a bad way? it made sense and wasn’t convoluted. overall i really enjoyed myself and it’s on my ‘purchase when you have disposable money’ book list so i can reread it at some point lol
also!!! i really really liked how detailed the day to day of working on a movie set was. i know the author has worked on them, and you can tell! as someone who wants to work in the film industry as a crew member it was really cool to read!
also!!! i really really liked how detailed the day to day of working on a movie set was. i know the author has worked on them, and you can tell! as someone who wants to work in the film industry as a crew member it was really cool to read!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Stalking
Loveless by Alice Oseman
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
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? N/A
5.0
lowkey,,, this book made me question shit. im currently toying with the idea that im demisexual because i realized some stuff i thought was normal was not lol. loved it!!
Content Warnings
Minor: Acephobia/Arophobia
You Exist Too Much by Zaina Arafat
emotional
hopeful
sad
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? Yes
4.0
i really liked this book! it really draws you into the narrators mindset and into her as a person so easily, which while the goal for plotless character driven books, is often hard to do but this one does it perfectly! overall i liked the discussion on her mental health in relationships, and i absolutely love a bisexual protagonist, however sometimes the way the author chose to talk about bisexuality was weird? there was a moment with matias where she asked him if it bothered him that she’d been with girls (and the discussion around guys liking it in theory but feeling insecure was very accurate! which made the next part confusing) and he said ‘no sometimes i wish i was bisexual but unfortunately i only like girls’ and the narrator says ‘that was the exact right thing to say’ but like. me as a bisexual person, it felt weird. if my straight partner said that, i’d feel weird about it. it’s not an outright biphobic/awful thing to say, but. it’s not the exact right thing to say and it was weird for a bi narrator to say this. ofc all bi people aren’t a monolith, and some might not feel weird about it, but idk. there were some other off things said about bisexuality, but overall i felt it was good rep. i don’t know the authors sexuality, (i googled, didn’t see anything) but it felt like someone who wasn’t bi wrote about it which is fine! but still. odd feeling.
i feel bc i spent so long talking about this that it’s negative but i did really love this book! i especially loved how i didn’t even notice the narrator doesn’t have a name, bc i felt like i knew her anyway. it was so cool to get to the end and realize after looking at authors interviews that she omitted the name and i didn’t notice.
i feel bc i spent so long talking about this that it’s negative but i did really love this book! i especially loved how i didn’t even notice the narrator doesn’t have a name, bc i felt like i knew her anyway. it was so cool to get to the end and realize after looking at authors interviews that she omitted the name and i didn’t notice.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse and Child abuse
Moderate: Eating disorder
One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston
adventurous
funny
mysterious
slow-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
4.5