divineauthor's reviews
382 reviews

Twelfth Knight by Alexene Farol Follmuth

emotional funny inspiring medium-paced

4.0

“I think the best thing we can do in this life is take care of each other […] I just think maybe happiness isn’t crossing a finishing line, or finally meeting the right person or getting the right job or finding the right life. It’s the little things […] It’s the thing that happens to you while you’re wide awake and dreaming.” —Vi Reyes, page 301

i’ve learned over the years to never expect your conventional storytelling from farol follmuth, so i was sufficiently prepared for this! TWELFTH KNIGHT is more of a coming of age novel than a ya romance, and, honestly, i love it. i love seeing these teenagers learn more about the world, i love them turning the corner and running into a piece of themselves that maybe they were running from or they haven’t met yet, i love the tenderness of their world which is not yet fully realized but filled with so much potential. 

ugh. teens. rolls my eyes (fondly). vi is so dear to me. i love girls who are just uncompromising about themselves, who are maybe too caustic and, of course, too smart for the world. obsessed with jack’s willingness to be open—his knee injury and all that entails, the MMORPG game nick introduced him to, vi and all her vi-ness, etc. really happy that the side characters (olivia, bash, antonio, et al.) all had weight and all meant something which leads me to the shakespeare of it all: farol follmuth’s always been fond of any type of shakespeare retelling, and this is no different. the identity shenanigans were fun, the bisexualism of shakespeare’s TWELFTH NIGHT did make an appearance (wink!), and the namessss. i have grown so fond of vi-prefix names. sighhhhhh

okay onto my issues that are not really issues but you know. it is what it is. farol follmuth’s prose swings between brilliant and naive. like she’ll right a gorgeous piece about learning to be vulnerable and then next there’s a boy in all caps yelling AND smirking. wonders never cease with her!

the added bonus for me is that the MMORPG game is based on arthurian legend, which is, if you know me, a soft spot. did the ending of that game make me tear up? yeah. we won’t talk about that. whateverrrrr. anyway, this is a very heart-warming read and i did enjoy it, so many some of y’all will to. but who’s to say. all right, love n light, guys. MWAH!

You Between the Lines by Katie Naymon

emotional medium-paced

2.75

“I love everything you’ve been, everything you are, everything you could be.” —Leigh Simon, page 335

okay, buckle in folks. i’m going to ramble about why i rated YOU BETWEEN THE LINES 2.75 stars. 

let’s start off with the good things, yeah? i’m always fond of relationships where there’s a past history, and rivalries, and girls who give too much of themselves to ever be their own person. will and leigh are the highlight of this book—their complicated back-and-forth miscommunication. it’s dramatic, it’s messy, and, most importantly, it’s sexy! will being a pathetic pussywhipped pretentious poet is also a plus. you’re welcome for the alliteration, by the way. i liked the inclusions of the bits of their writing embedded in the novel (will’s first line of nonfiction, “I was born eight pounds, eight ounces, and eighteen inches long—which is to say, both too much and not enough,” is still so striking). there’s an ease to the prose, and the relationships are dynamic enough to make me want them to get together. what else? oh, the ending was sweet, a little reminiscent of emily henry’s US edition ending of BEACH READ. will and leigh deserve that cuteness. it’s been a long time coming for them—ten years in the making. yeah! good moments! 

and now for my list of grievances (of which there are too many): sigh. SIGHHHHHHH. i find it funny that, for a character’s main flaw on-page is trying to be like other girls and trying to fit in, naymon manages to not-like-other-girls leigh. leigh’s an mfa poetry student who likes beer and joined a sorority in undergrad and likes pink and skirts and makeup . . . okay? many such cases with women everywhere, actually. leigh being so annoying to the point of DNF’ing is just so bad, guys. i’m sorry, but what the hell is her problem? scratch that. i know what her problem is. she’s a chronic people pleaser whose parents’ separation made her life oh-so-hard. okay! great! is she interesting though? is she a well-crafted character? did her flaws and her background help make her likable? no. ugh. moving on. here are quickfire qualms: 

• this weird image of english majors leigh has. girl what the hell are you on? 
• why is leigh an mfa poetry student who DOESN’T READ POETRY???
• the fucking taylor swift poemS. not just one. MULTIPLE. and a one direction poem. jesus christ. can you please put a gun in between my eyes? 
• i’m still stuck on her not reading anything. what the hell is your problem. 
• all right, fine, something else. the pacing’s off. it’s not as believable to me that a year has passed. it felt like we’re watching things happen day-by-day which means in my head it felt like a good solid month. 
• there were moments between leigh and will where their dialogue just felt too disjointed, like i’m not following the conversation correctly. 
• i’m not the Biggest fan of slang / dated terms for the “current” era because most of the time . . . it already feels outdated, and not in a way that enhances the narrative. this is touched on with the celebrity-poems but idk. it felt like Too Much. 
• page 23 (WHY DOESN’T SHE READ!!!!!!!! i’m never getting over this i fear). 

yeah. so maybe i need to take another break from romance again. or maybe valentine’s day was a fluke, who knows. whatever. i need a smoke break. love n light, guys. 

First-Time Caller by B.K. Borison

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

4.0

“Is this what love feels like?” —Aiden Valen, page 411

WE ARE SO FUCKING BACK, BABY! happy valentine’s day, love is in the air and is on air fr! after the slump i’ve had with romance books lately . . . oh my god. guys, this was a true romcom—i was giggling and twirling my hair at the drama and the pure love of it. it’s very contemporary, but it has the heart of a 90s/00s comfort classic romcom, do you know what i mean? you put on an old romcom and you roll your eyes because surely this is “too much” but your heart softens at the earnestness of it all—the encompassing belief that love does exist, because it’s in front of your eyes and, yeah, maybe it’s cheesy, maybe it’s overdramatic, but it’s part of the reason romcoms are so dearly loved. ugh!! this was such a perfect book to finish today. 

yeah, yeah, i do have qualms: minor editing could’ve made the prose a little less repetitive at times, aiden’s anger isn’t earned yet enough from me, some character choices, maybe a little too long but i wouldn’t necessarily know where to pare it down either, etc.—but it really didn’t detract from my enjoyment. i had a blast. lucie’s fearless in her want of love and aiden’s such a delight to read warming up to her. and, jesus christ, every time they touched . . . if I was a listener in-universe, i would’ve been so parasocial. i probably would’ve imploded at the end!! would recommend if you just want a fun time :D ALSO. GORGEOUS COVER. OBSESSED!

love n light everyone fr… YAYYYY!!!

Superman: Up, Up, and Away! by Kurt Busiek

adventurous inspiring

4.25

“Some things -- you never lose.” —Clark Kent / Superman, Action Comics (1938) #840

rereading SUPERMAN: UP, UP, AND AWAY! with fresh eyes was so wonderful. busiek and johns’ clark is such a treat; they write superman stories with such heart to them, even in the midst of crazy villains and fights and tricks about itching powder and dark, alleyway beatdowns. clark is without his powers, without superman, one year after the INFINITE CRISIS event, and he’s doing well. metropolis faired without him with the help of his caped friends, but there will always be something in clark that makes him want to help. it’s what makes him superman, at the end of the day. not the powers, not really, but that innate goodness in him. in busiek’s other story, SUPERMAN: SECRET IDENTITY, he posits the question: if you had superpowers, wouldn’t you help? and in this, busiek-johns go even further: without superpowers, wouldn’t you still help? it’s the clark kent way, after all.

god, i love superman so much. anyway, love n light everyone mwah mwah xoxo

══════════════════

08/16/21: THIS WAS FANTASTIC

The Flash: Born to Run by Tom Peyer, Mark Waid

adventurous fast-paced

4.5

“My name is Wally West, and at age ten, l’d finally found a way to keep people from running my life: I started doing the running.” —Wally West, issue #63

this is my first stint in the flash (the comics, specifically) and jumping headfirst into wally’s first year was insane. barry and iris are dead, apparently, and wally’s the saddest-happiest kid on earth. waid does such a great job of balancing wally’s internal narration regarding his past, his family (and subsequent trauma) and the quick-paced action that the flash always promises.

ugh. i want to throttle rudy west so badly. i want to keep wally age ten in central city with iris and the flash for a little while longer. but time really is the enemy, as wally would say. sighhhhhh waid does it again! anyway, i certainly will be reading more of wally’s flash in the future—yipppee!!

Superman for All Seasons by Jeph Loeb

emotional hopeful medium-paced

4.75

“Remember. You can do anything you set your mind to—as long as you believe in it with all your heart.” —Martha Kent, issue 1

this is such a gorgeous, gorgeous  miniseries on being clark kent, superman. sales’ art and hansen’s coloring makes the whole world feel soft, even in its darkest moments. i love the way clark’s drawn here, specifically, because he is one of the biggest men in the crowd, in any crowd, but there’s such a gentleness to him that cannot be understated. there’s a sadness to him, too, that loeb really has a good grasp on. loeb’s clark is so deeply human, which makes him so deeply alone in his alienness. having each season narrated by different people that are important in his life—pa kent, lois lane, lex luthor, lana lang—is such a great move. to see clark, superman, the man, and the alien through different people’s eyes . . . UGH. incredible. loved this so much i hope i won’t burst into tears again when i eventually reread this and get to the whole “Pa. I’m scared” moment. truly had me on my knees. 

Marvel Masterworks: The Fantastic Four, Vol. 1 by Stan Lee

adventurous funny

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

3.5

“But I just found out I’m a white knight—and us white knights don’t desert their companions in arms. I’m with ya, gang!” —Ben Grimm, issue 9

it’s always fun to read some of the earlier comics to get a taste of their dynamics, their personalities (or lack thereof), and the general writing of the decade. lee’s a robust writer, for sure. period-typical misogyny is a bit boring, in the way sue is genuinely a hostage so much of the time and waiting around for the men to come save her. interested in her powers manifesting only as invisibility at this point in time. let’s see what else . . . ben’s gruff as always, and he and johnny are always at each other’s necks. reed’s there, which is the most i can say. i am enchanted by all of them—the first marvel comics family! but, you know, the period-typical racism always grounds me to earth. that was crazy! 

Daydream by Hannah Grace

lighthearted

1.0

“You’re my perfect canvas, Halle. Every part of you.” —Henry Turner, page 268

according to grace’s acknowledgments, this book’s word count is 125k, and i felt that it needed . . . none of that. unfortunately, my general thoughts about DAYDREAM is that it’s incredibly uninspired which might actually be a worse insult imo. i’ve read some bad books in my time, but i was at least entertained in a morbidly curious way. this book book is the equivalent of a decaf coffee with too much cream—boring and tasteless and doesn’t do shit! 

some issues off the top of my head:

• setting: maybe i wouldn’t mind it so much if i wasn’t from los angeles, but i need authors to do a little more research about where they set their books because this was honestly laughable. this was so not LA in any way shape or form. 
• diversity quota: quantity over quality (also, many weird remarks about how henry is of course not a misogynist / not like other guys because he was raised by two women . . . incredible how that is not simply the case). this also relates to the cast, wherein i didn’t give two shits about anyone, regardless of if they’re hot bookish lesbians! sorry, you fucking failed! all of these people are boring as hell. 
• the main couple: i can appreciate and read a good trope if it’s at least interesting. grace does not handle halle and henry’s bookish inexperienced virgin x jock playboy trope with any art or passion. truly, a cardboard moment. not to mention that the sex wasn’t believable, nor was their chemistry.  
• halle and henry as characters: both of their . . . flaws (halle’s eldest daughter syndrome and Henry’s audhd tendencies) felt lackluster to me. i love, love, love an eldest sibling character (famously, historically so) and to be given one without any bite to her was just sad. and henry? bro i cannot even lie to you. i just did not care. 

anyway, not a fun read. will probably never read any of grace’s other books. love n light to u all. 

Daredevil: The Man Without Fear by Frank Miller

adventurous tense medium-paced

4.0

"The boy from Hell's Kitchen has come home." —Matt Murdock, #5

this origin for matt is gritty, dark, and just a little bit too dense at times. i'm not the biggest fan of romita jr's art style (especially outside of spider-man), but there were actually some gorgeous panels. i don't really know how to rate this because i know daredevil, and i know his origin, and this is good, but it's not the best. it's a really solid book and engaging throughout, but specifically . . . kingpin felt a little too on-the-nose for a villain. well, to be fair, the quickness in which matt became invested in law also had that feeling, but there's not much to do with superhero narratives; at a certain point, there's a sequence of events that needs to follow! anyway, i did read this on the day the daredevil: born again trailer dropped. sue me, i am who i am!

Model Home by Rivers Solomon

dark emotional tense medium-paced

5.0

“If I cannot forget, what is there? I am always remembering, even when I am not. Me is in itself a remembrance. Me does not exist without the past that shaped my being. And what is there between memory and forgetting?” —Ezri, page 177

MODEL HOME was not the horror novel i was expecting, but i was raptured by it, in the old latin sense of the word—a carrying away, a preying upon, a seizing. this is not a typical haunting, and it wouldn’t be the same story otherwise. ezri, the main narrator, is a nesting russian doll character and each unveiling / unraveling / un-becoming skews the entire world on its head. insanity. 

this is my first solomon book and, good lord. what an introduction for me. the intricate way they play with tense and punctuation, how that falls in and out and in and out of memory and fantasy and dreams and reality . . . insane writing, genuinely. i will definitely picking up more of their books. 

fucking horrifying read, guys. jesus.