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emilycait's reviews
1450 reviews
Just For the Summer by Abby Jimenez
emotional
medium-paced
1.0
I remember the book giving content warnings at the start that were largely mental health based and it recommended going online to look up the rest of the warnings. I did not. And then regretted it when I hit a certain spoiler part below.
So I looked up the content warnings now. This is the list of content: Death of a loved one (spoiler alert: major character death), Infidelity, Mental health struggles, Pregnancy loss, Trauma, Depression/anxiety, Substance abuse, Domestic violence/abuse, Sexual assault, Surgical procedure/Painful medical experiences.
NO MENTION OF VOMITING or illness described in graphic detail. So heads up friends, if that's also not your jam.
So I had a really special time with the following:
The whole painfully long drawn out plot point where Emma picks up norovirus spends days vomiting and shitting her brains out on an island alone DESCRIBED IN DETAIL. Justin swims to her to take care of her and obviously gets norovirus too. Then they lay in bed and vomit into a trash can near each other AND TAKE NOTE OF HIS ERECTIONS between vomiting... kill me. There has never been anything less sexy. It was like a CBT session for emetophobia. I have literally had to read shit like this in CBT sessions for emetophobia. I should probably link it on a subreddit somewhere and make a therapist happy.
On top of the above (yuck), the characters spend a lot of time in their own heads with their own issues. You have to painfully read through them running through the same thoughts over and over during their POV, only to switch to the other character with them equally stuck in their circular thoughts. Just fucking talk! I feel like there is slow burn and there is throw the book across the room SLOW BURN. I started skipping ahead by 30 seconds every once and a while during the getting back together part, following the obligatory third act break up. Come on! We know where this is going. I don't need 15 minutes of each character spiraling.
This book confirms the slow burn, angsty, withholding of information to delay the HEA as long as possible is definitely not for me when it comes to a romance story. I know this works for some people and I'm so happy for you! The character development was great, I liked the world building, I liked that therapy is important and plays a large role in the characters lives, but certain key pieces here just don't work for me as a reader. (And vomit in anyway isn't delivering on the escapist read for me personally.)
If you are more patient than I am AND like more closed door sex scenes, this could be worth the read.
So I looked up the content warnings now. This is the list of content: Death of a loved one (spoiler alert: major character death), Infidelity, Mental health struggles, Pregnancy loss, Trauma, Depression/anxiety, Substance abuse, Domestic violence/abuse, Sexual assault, Surgical procedure/Painful medical experiences.
NO MENTION OF VOMITING or illness described in graphic detail. So heads up friends, if that's also not your jam.
So I had a really special time with the following:
On top of the above (yuck), the characters spend a lot of time in their own heads with their own issues. You have to painfully read through them running through the same thoughts over and over during their POV, only to switch to the other character with them equally stuck in their circular thoughts. Just fucking talk! I feel like there is slow burn and there is throw the book across the room SLOW BURN.
This book confirms the slow burn, angsty, withholding of information to delay the HEA as long as possible is definitely not for me when it comes to a romance story. I know this works for some people and I'm so happy for you! The character development was great, I liked the world building, I liked that therapy is important and plays a large role in the characters lives, but certain key pieces here just don't work for me as a reader. (And vomit in anyway isn't delivering on the escapist read for me personally.)
If you are more patient than I am AND like more closed door sex scenes, this could be worth the read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Vomit
The Last Last by Wendy J. Whittingham
emotional
lighthearted
fast-paced
4.0
I received access to a digital ARC from the publisher through work.
The Friendship Guide by Jillian Roberts
informative
slow-paced
1.0
I received access to a digital copy of this book from the publishers through work.
I personally find how heavily didactic this book is off putting. I understand the intention, but greatly dislike the execution.
I personally find how heavily didactic this book is off putting. I understand the intention, but greatly dislike the execution.
Sari Sisters by Anitha Rao-Robinson
emotional
lighthearted
fast-paced
5.0
I received access to a digital copy of this book from the publishers through work.
I LOVED this story. It's always interesting to see sibling age gap dynamics navigated. Ruhi, the little sib, feels left out/left behind when her older sib Kayra has a coming of age moment and gets to wear a sari to a family gathering for the first time.
Seeing the siblings come together in the end for a sari dance party was so lovely.
Also, the use of tissue paper to add texture and dimension to the saris was a phenomenal choice. That tissue paper is a little bit see through, so we can see skin and clothing peeking through was a cherry on top of otherwise STUNNING illustrations! It really makes each spread pop!
I LOVED this story. It's always interesting to see sibling age gap dynamics navigated. Ruhi, the little sib, feels left out/left behind when her older sib Kayra has a coming of age moment and gets to wear a sari to a family gathering for the first time.
Seeing the siblings come together in the end for a sari dance party was so lovely.
Also, the use of tissue paper to add texture and dimension to the saris was a phenomenal choice. That tissue paper is a little bit see through, so we can see skin and clothing peeking through was a cherry on top of otherwise STUNNING illustrations! It really makes each spread pop!
One Can by Lana Button, Eric Walters
emotional
informative
fast-paced
3.0
I received access to an ARC from the publishers through work.
A gentle, child-appropriate look at food insecurity and the importance of passing kindnesses forwards when you are in a position to do so.
A gentle, child-appropriate look at food insecurity and the importance of passing kindnesses forwards when you are in a position to do so.
My Street Remembers by Karen Krossing
informative
medium-paced
3.0
I received access to an ARC from the publishers through work.
I really like the concept here! I think the invitation to think about what the land you occupies "remembers" is an interesting one. This is a gentle, yet powerful, look at how colonization impacted one street in Toronto.
This is a really early copy work was given access to in December 2024/January 2025 and the illustrations look very much like a rough draft, but give a sense of where this will end up. Normally with picture books, I do like to comment on the illustrations and I'm not going to this time because of how rough the copy I read looks. I'm excited to see a final version when it comes out in September 2025.
I really like the concept here! I think the invitation to think about what the land you occupies "remembers" is an interesting one. This is a gentle, yet powerful, look at how colonization impacted one street in Toronto.
This is a really early copy work was given access to in December 2024/January 2025 and the illustrations look very much like a rough draft, but give a sense of where this will end up. Normally with picture books, I do like to comment on the illustrations and I'm not going to this time because of how rough the copy I read looks. I'm excited to see a final version when it comes out in September 2025.