georgiasbookescapes's reviews
421 reviews

Royals by Tegan Bennett Daylight
Did not finish book. Stopped at 49%.

6 teens and a baby find themselves trapped inside an Inner Sydney mall in Australia…. But somehow there’s no way out? Described as the Gen Z version of The Lord Of The Flies with magical realism and with diversity with First Nations Australian characters, another character with a physical disability requiring support of a wheelchair and an androgynous presenting female character.

I ultimately DNF’d this book around 50% Unfortunately what would seem like my thing - YA with diversity and a remake of a classic didn’t quite hit the mark for me. I struggled with the first person writing style which often broke the fourth wall and just didn’t quite overall hit the mark for me unfortunately. This book had all the right marks for me but just didn’t hit it for me personally. I’m still excited for future books by this author as they’ve shown exciting ideas!

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for this ARC. 

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

Elizabeth Zott is a scientist who now runs a TV series Supper At Six and is one of the most hated women in America. A 1960s story of feminism through the lens of a female chemist and one of her non-traditional forms of chemistry - love. Love which helped influence parts of her professional story at times. 

Ultimately this is a feminist manifesto as one of my book club friends Bec pointed out to me. I got distracted by a slow start and lots of discussions of romance challenging initial roads into Zott’s successes. But overall this book was wonderful. I can see why this has been so successful - and if you choose to read it - so will you!

While We Were Dreaming by Clemens Meyer
Did not finish book. Stopped at 2%.

2% in and a females already being referred to as a slut. The language style of writing is just brash and unappealing to me. 

In a Jam by Kate Canterbary

emotional lighthearted reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

Shay’s whole world has just fallen apart. Her to be husband has called off the wedding whilst she waits at the alter. Thank god for incredible friends like Jamie who take Shay in after the wedding falls through. And then her Step Grandmother Lollie hands her estate to Shay, but there’s a couple of clauses to keep the estate. First, Shay must stay on the farm for 12 months in Friendship the small rural town she lived in with her Step Grandmother Lollie for a year as a teenager. The second, she must marry within this same year. Needing a fresh start Shay takes the chance and runs back into Daddy Bread Baker aka Noah aka her high school best friend when she lived in Friendship. Except now he’s hot, a farmer and an adoptive father for his pirate, swearing, 7 year old niece. 

This a hot and steamy slowwwwwww burn romance and it gave me all the delicious feels that I needed! I read slowly but I loved it. It gives off Taylor Swift Paper Rings vibes. If you love a small town, friends to lovers vibe this is it! I read this on Kindle Unlimited and am dying to my grubby little hands on a paperback copy now! 😈😈

Punk 57 by Penelope Douglas
Did not finish book. Stopped at 15%.

Misha and Ryen are pen pals for 7 years before they have a happen chance meeting and Misha disappears. 

I got 15% into this and then had to DNF personally. There seemed like a lot of 2000 actions going on with a scavenger hunt where the least “racy” action was to kiss a stranger which there’s nothing wrong with but apparently goes more extreme from there just to meet a band. Then one he pretends not to know who she is, describing another character who is apparently AMAB and identifies that way in a cruel tone as appearing feminine which there is nothing wrong with, except for the tone. It just feels like all old 2000 bullying which I’m not actually personally interested in. The book shows high ratings and therefore fulfils plenty of people’s reading interests but just not for me personally. And in this case I wish for once I read the 1 star reviews to begin as it would’ve shown me many reasons why I wouldn’t have personally enjoyed this kind of story. 

Delilah Green ma to gdzieś by Ashley Herring Blake

emotional lighthearted reflective sad fast-paced

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

5.0

Delilah Green has to return to her hometown Bright Falls for her wicked step sister Astrid’s wedding as the photographer. Once there one of Astrid’s best friends Claire not recognising Delilah ends up hitting on Delilah setting off the 2 weeks of wedding events on entirely different course than any party expected.

Fast paced sapphic romance? Yes please! Down side is of course the recently noted lack of diversity in this book as all noted characters are white. So be aware if you’re diving in the only diversity is of lesbian and bisexual characters! Other than that I loved this book! At one of my Dymocks Delilah Green was noted to be like a female version of Jess from Gilmore Girls and if that hadn’t sold me earlier it did after that! (Yes, I appreciate that’s a very white reference from a very white person.) If you love grumpy x sunshine tropes and miscommunication, rivals to lovers this book is for you! 😍

Tides of Love by Kimberly Cooper Griffin

emotional lighthearted reflective medium-paced

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

2.5

Following Mikayla’s divorce she needs changes. She’s been left off financially fine thanks to her ex-husband of 12 years, but the idea of staying in one of the homes he left her filled with memories of them doesn’t feel right. Thankfully Mikayla’s sister Ashe has a friend Brandi who needs a home in London for 6 months. So Mikayla swaps her London home for Brandi’s home in a mobile home community at Oceana where Mikayla meets the lovely Gem who stirs up things for Mikayla that she never expected before. 

A gentle sapphic love story for two women in their 30s exploring second chances in life with careers, families and choices. Overall a perfectly lovely story, but one that didn’t enthral me like I hoped it was. I found myself ready for the end a bit before it ended with a fast paced ending with lots of dramatics. Although I’m certain this would be a story many would enjoy, it didn’t quite hit all the marks I was hoping for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bold Stroke Books Inc for this ARC.

Cleopatra and Frankenstein by Coco Mellors

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

Cleo is 24, British, an artist and determined to stay living in New York. Frank is 44, American, an advertiser and fallen in love with Cleo on sight. A whirlwind romance leads to a marriage between the two to help Cleo gain her visa. With lavish New York parties, larger than life characters as friends, you follow this couples story for around 18 months in their dysfunctional marriage and lives. 

The characters do not charm you. You don’t want to really root for them. But this book is enchanting. With a slow start I swiftly found myself enraptured in this book. I never would’ve picked it up to begin with actually if we’re not for @readbysez review - so if you want more reason to find yourself caught up in this book - I highly suggest reading her review. This book is hard for me to rate. 4 stars? 5 stars? I loved it but is it my favourite book ever? So as you’ll see - I settled for in between. 

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫/5

Fatima Tate Takes The Cake by Khadijah VanBrakle

challenging emotional inspiring reflective 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

Fatima Tate is 17, wants to be a pastry chef and her parents are ready to arrange her marriage. Good news is the Muslim Prince Charming Raheem wants to be allowed to marry her! And after meeting a year ago not that her parents know things seem like they may be perfect! But things seem to change when the ring is on Fatima’s finger. 

This is a beautiful story of family, community and finding your own strength from the story of a young Muslim woman. If you’re looking for a powerful and gentle YA story featuring these themes - this book is the one for you! 😍

Thank you to NetGalley and Holiday House Publishing for this ARC. 

4 and a half stars!!! 

In a Thousand Different Ways by Cecelia Ahern

challenging dark emotional 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

4.0