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fossilreads's Reviews (164)
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
I've been reading more comics than usual for me and this was a nice addition to my reading list. I really loved the art style and the characters' vibes were well portrayed!
I liked the story arc of Maggie finding her place in a new setting, especially with her family already having found where they belong. It was nice to see her find out she has more in common with her brothers than she thought too.
I somewhat struggled to figure out the reason of the haunting, but it did still bring an interesting connection between characters. I also liked the lesson that not everything always needs to be fixed, some things can just be.
It did leave me wanting more though, I felt like something was missing.
I liked the story arc of Maggie finding her place in a new setting, especially with her family already having found where they belong. It was nice to see her find out she has more in common with her brothers than she thought too.
I somewhat struggled to figure out the reason of the haunting, but it did still bring an interesting connection between characters. I also liked the lesson that not everything always needs to be fixed, some things can just be.
It did leave me wanting more though, I felt like something was missing.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Thank you to the author for the chance to ARC read!
If Veiled Skies started out slow and turned up the pace toward the end, this was action packed from the start. I loved getting to know the fantastical creatures better in this book!
Deming went through gut wrenching grief that was very difficult to read at times but her healing arc was beautiful to witness. Deming and Nikita's relationship was so fun to read too, I've been waiting for them to figure things out and here we go!
The first book was full of questions with some revelations and answers at the end. This sequel had both, many questions but so many answers too. I felt the characters' frustration with so much happening, yet feeling stuck not being able to do anything.
With the first book I had some issues keeping up, but that was long gone with this one. The writing was still beautiful but slightly clearer and easier to follow.
My main minus that lowers my rating from 5 to 4,5 stars is because the priorities sometimes confused me. A rescue mission was a big priority, yet time passed with only brief mentions of when it should happen, but very little planning or work toward making the mission happen seems to be shown. I hoped for some more mentions of meetings about plans etc. Seeing that they were actively working on their mission would've raised this to 5 stars.
If Veiled Skies started out slow and turned up the pace toward the end, this was action packed from the start. I loved getting to know the fantastical creatures better in this book!
Deming went through gut wrenching grief that was very difficult to read at times but her healing arc was beautiful to witness. Deming and Nikita's relationship was so fun to read too, I've been waiting for them to figure things out and here we go!
The first book was full of questions with some revelations and answers at the end. This sequel had both, many questions but so many answers too. I felt the characters' frustration with so much happening, yet feeling stuck not being able to do anything.
With the first book I had some issues keeping up, but that was long gone with this one. The writing was still beautiful but slightly clearer and easier to follow.
My main minus that lowers my rating from 5 to 4,5 stars is because the priorities sometimes confused me. A rescue mission was a big priority, yet time passed with only brief mentions of when it should happen, but very little planning or work toward making the mission happen seems to be shown. I hoped for some more mentions of meetings about plans etc. Seeing that they were actively working on their mission would've raised this to 5 stars.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Self harm, Violence, Grief
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: War
This was such a fun and touching romance to read!
This is the first time a book gad me audibly giggling and kicking my feet, everything about this romance had me hooked from the first chapter to the last!
I loved both main characters and their families. Amerie went through a lot of growth from being so independent to allowing Vincent to do things for her at times. He really is a "I know you can, but let me do it for you." kind of guy.
Amerie and Vincent's family issues were so complex and truly helped bring the story together and the characters to life. I just loved every moment of them together. Vincent definitely fell for Amerie as soon as he saw her, you can't convince me otherwise!
Amerie and Gina's friendship was amazing too, sometimes rough patches happen and they might hurt but they were able to honestly feel hurt but still understand and support each other the way the other party needed to be supported.
The spice was also great but the story can absolutely hold itself without too! The respect he has for her made me so happy.
This is the first time a book gad me audibly giggling and kicking my feet, everything about this romance had me hooked from the first chapter to the last!
I loved both main characters and their families. Amerie went through a lot of growth from being so independent to allowing Vincent to do things for her at times. He really is a "I know you can, but let me do it for you." kind of guy.
Amerie and Vincent's family issues were so complex and truly helped bring the story together and the characters to life. I just loved every moment of them together. Vincent definitely fell for Amerie as soon as he saw her, you can't convince me otherwise!
Amerie and Gina's friendship was amazing too, sometimes rough patches happen and they might hurt but they were able to honestly feel hurt but still understand and support each other the way the other party needed to be supported.
The spice was also great but the story can absolutely hold itself without too! The respect he has for her made me so happy.
I had very mixed feelings about this one throughout my reading experience.
I went in with the expectation of a magical murder mystery, and sure, that was delivered. I had issues with my opinion of the main character, I really couldn't figure out if I liked him or not. Many of the characters are somewhere around 20-30 years old, but they constantly felt like teenagers bickering to me.
I mainly stuck with the story since I was invested in the mystery part, luckily that ended up letting me find answers to some things that were pretty unclear for a long time.
At the same time I liked how we learned about the magic system at the same time as the main character, but I did wish we had some more info a bit earlier.
The book had a lot of versatile LGBTQ+ and BIPOC representation, with characters discussing their sexuality and a very prominent nonbinary character, the whole world is very queernormative. There was also good disability rep!
The main character is quite snarky and usually I don't mind it or even like it, this time I just couldn't put my finger on why I found it kind of annoying... I honestly didn't really care for the main character's constant horniness, it felt unnecessary to me. I see why this is an Adult book, but it could really have been YA if we removed the swearing and toned down the horny. I think the pull toward the other character could've been done better differently.
The action packed ending did somewhat make up for what I was lacking for most of the book, but the scene in the snow after the fountain was IMO unnecessary, it didn't really bring anything more to the story
Overall this was fine, I just wished things were discussed better earlier, instead of almost everything becoming clear in the last 20% of the book. Knowing what I know after finishing, could make me enjoy the first 80% more if I re-read this, but I'm not really sure if I will.
I went in with the expectation of a magical murder mystery, and sure, that was delivered. I had issues with my opinion of the main character, I really couldn't figure out if I liked him or not. Many of the characters are somewhere around 20-30 years old, but they constantly felt like teenagers bickering to me.
I mainly stuck with the story since I was invested in the mystery part, luckily that ended up letting me find answers to some things that were pretty unclear for a long time.
At the same time I liked how we learned about the magic system at the same time as the main character, but I did wish we had some more info a bit earlier.
The book had a lot of versatile LGBTQ+ and BIPOC representation, with characters discussing their sexuality and a very prominent nonbinary character, the whole world is very queernormative. There was also good disability rep!
The main character is quite snarky and usually I don't mind it or even like it, this time I just couldn't put my finger on why I found it kind of annoying... I honestly didn't really care for the main character's constant horniness, it felt unnecessary to me. I see why this is an Adult book, but it could really have been YA if we removed the swearing and toned down the horny. I think the pull toward the other character could've been done better differently.
The action packed ending did somewhat make up for what I was lacking for most of the book, but the scene in the snow after the fountain was IMO unnecessary, it didn't really bring anything more to the story
Overall this was fine, I just wished things were discussed better earlier, instead of almost everything becoming clear in the last 20% of the book. Knowing what I know after finishing, could make me enjoy the first 80% more if I re-read this, but I'm not really sure if I will.
Needed something to relate to better atm, this just didn't quite do it rn
This was a deeply emotional and very educational look into the lives of the Japanese-American in the camps. Unfortunately very timely again, given the current climate. The book is a mix of fact and fiction, inspired by the author's connection to their grandmother.
I liked the sort of magical connection to history and how our main character got to know their grandmother's past. Since there wasn't a way for the grandmother to tell the story herself, this kind of distanced way of getting to know her worked very well to portray the disconnect between the characters.
I learned a lot, since I have previously been very unmotivated with history (most of what I was taught was quite white) so I unfortunately hadn't known much about the camps. The book gives a deep look into the trauma passed on through generations.
I resonated heavily with Kiku feeling out of place with both the Americans and the Japanese, it's hard to belong when you're so distanced from the culture. I also gained deeper understanding as to why this happened so widely specifically for the generations of Japanese in question.
I'm a little sad this needed to be a mirror to our current times and shows how little we have learned as a society, but I love the call to action and reflection on what we can do now to fight back on the same things happening now.
I liked the sort of magical connection to history and how our main character got to know their grandmother's past. Since there wasn't a way for the grandmother to tell the story herself, this kind of distanced way of getting to know her worked very well to portray the disconnect between the characters.
I learned a lot, since I have previously been very unmotivated with history (most of what I was taught was quite white) so I unfortunately hadn't known much about the camps. The book gives a deep look into the trauma passed on through generations.
I resonated heavily with Kiku feeling out of place with both the Americans and the Japanese, it's hard to belong when you're so distanced from the culture. I also gained deeper understanding as to why this happened so widely specifically for the generations of Japanese in question.
I'm a little sad this needed to be a mirror to our current times and shows how little we have learned as a society, but I love the call to action and reflection on what we can do now to fight back on the same things happening now.
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
These comics are amazing for diving into different trans and nonbinary experiences. Each comic is deeply personal and opens the door to understanding these experiences and issues deeper.
This anthology truly reached its goal of sharing stories of self-discovery and acceptance. It's so nice to have positive representation to combat the harmful portrayals throughout history.
For me reading this served as a way to understand my trans and nonbinary peers on a deeper level and from different perspectives, but for anyone questioning their gender this can be a great book to find experiences to relate to. It's also great for understanding gender expression and how deeply some things have rooted into being seen as belonging mainly to a specific gender.
The showcase of artists is great, so many styles and beautiful stories to tell!
This anthology truly reached its goal of sharing stories of self-discovery and acceptance. It's so nice to have positive representation to combat the harmful portrayals throughout history.
For me reading this served as a way to understand my trans and nonbinary peers on a deeper level and from different perspectives, but for anyone questioning their gender this can be a great book to find experiences to relate to. It's also great for understanding gender expression and how deeply some things have rooted into being seen as belonging mainly to a specific gender.
The showcase of artists is great, so many styles and beautiful stories to tell!
“Sometimes, just before dawn, she dreams of black butterflies, their charred wings opening and closing as they drift down in their hundreds and thousands, alighting on her cheeks, her eyes, her mouth.”
There's so much of this book I can't even put into words. But I will try my best, this might get lengthy but still be missing some things I'd love to figure out how to say.
This can truly be an eyeopener for readers who have no idea what war can cause and feel like. The author's research has been done well and everything felt very respectfully written. It's clarified in the author's note whose experiences she's learned from and adapted to this book. Partly inspired by her own family history too.
We follow the experience of an art teacher navigating the hopes and horrors of staying home during a war. There is danger around every moment and immense internal conflict on what she should be doing or feeling.
The juxtaposition of the awful experiences and what brings hope and comfort during them is thought provoking. How can the community bring so much care and hope while causing worries and danger too? How are you allowed to seek comfort when everything has been torn to shreds and you have no clue if you'll be alive the next day?
We experience the joy of community and the grief of losing them under different circumstances. The way time passes differently, you truly lose track of time under siege.
This is not an easy book to read, it can take a lot to not fall into the hopelessness of history repeating itself but instead figuring out how to take action against it. I recommend making sure you are in the right mental space to take in the beauty of the writing and dreadfulness of its themes.
“It was ridiculous, very over the top, but each and every antic was bringing a smile to Ada’s face. And Cas knew then that she’d happily orchestrate a thousand stupid activities if it meant that Ada kept smiling like that.”
This was a fun, drama filled romance with some strong bisexual representation.
The dating show setting brought a very different vibe than I'm used to and for me it was refreshing and tiring at the same time. I loved having a slightly different set of issues for the couple to go through, but the drama central is exhausting to me. I didn't really care for all the rankings and such, but I understand why they were included as a part of the show.
I loved the friendships that were established during the show, and both Cas and Ada's friendships in their normal life. I also loved their commentary on how straight most dating shows are, even if they technically allow queer romances too.
Overall I enjoyed the experience, but at times I noticed just hoping to be further along the romance arc. This was also the first time I started skimming through the spice so I could get to the next part. The spice was good, I just wanted to get to the lovey-dovey parts this time.
“You are both the most frustrating and the most captivating part of my universe.”
Thank you to the author for the ARC, I am reviewing this voluntarily!
Starting with the dedication: FIRE. This was such a sweet and spicy academic rivals to lovers novella!
I enjoyed reading another part of the Augury University series and hanging out with its magical beings again.
We follow two students, Zinnia and Wren, competing to become valedictorian. They decide compete in a personal competition and end up in all kinds of fun shenanigans. I had a fun time seeing them fail and succeed in front of each other.
I especially loved the nonbinary AND endometriosis representation in the main couple. Both were done great and we didn't shy away from the harsh realities of how awful endo can be.
The spice was great and kinky and I loved it!