georgiasbookescapes's reviews
421 reviews

Let's Talk About Love by Claire Kann

emotional hopeful informative lighthearted reflective fast-paced

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

4.0

Alice has her summer perfectly planned out to balance work at the library, time with her best friends, good food and even better tv show binges. But things change course a bit when her girlfriend breaks up with her who ends things with Alice when she shares she’s asexual. Alice decides dating isnt worth the difficulty after this. So when Takumi starts at the library and she gets rom-com butterflies she begins to wonder - is she willing to risk her friendship for a love that may not be reciprocated? 

Ooh this is so cuteeeee!! I’m obsessed with Alice’s Cutie Code and the romance is very swoony! The friendships are so loyal and gorgeous. I did find some jumps between chapters a bit clunky at times, but I promise if you find that early on it’s worth sticking out the entire heartwarming read! I’d seen this book around for a while and I’m so glad I finally read it!

Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 by Cho Nam-joo

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad fast-paced

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

5.0

Kim Jiyoung was born in 1982. We learn of her life as a female living in Korea. From her parents disappointment at having a girl, boys being picked over her for things in school, struggling to get employed due to being a woman. We see the impact that a misogynistic society can have on a person.

Nam-Joo sprinkles footnotes throughout the book backing the story with facts of discrimination noted towards women in Korea elevating this book for me from a scathing fiction story to one further holding truth. It’s easy to see why this was so popular when it came out and why it’s been translated into 18(!!!!!!!!) languages!  

This Could Be Us by Kennedy Ryan

dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

Soledad has her life perfectly together and mapped out. But when life falls apart unexpectedly and due to an unexpected man who enters her life. How can she get things back on track?

Ooft! Kennedy Ryan you goddess!!! This book was incredible once again! Choosing yourself, love, romance, epic friendships, amazing parenting! Love love love!! These characters feel so rich and REAL!! It’s everything I want in a book, and especially a romance, and more! I cannot wait for book 3!!!

Kissing Tolstoy by Penny Reid

emotional funny lighthearted fast-paced

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

3.5

Anna has a love of Russian literature. So when the opportunity to get into a Russian literature class occurs she takes it. Too bad the lecturer is from an accidental blind date where the professor turned up in leather pants as she did too. 

This is a short steamy rom-com and if you enjoy a professor student story this may be right up your alley! The chemistry was the perfect kind of steamy for me balanced with some lusting love! 😘

As Good As Dead by Holly Jackson

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad fast-paced

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

4.0

Pip’s days as a good girl are over after solving two murder cases and becoming famous with her podcast. When things start to occur Pip starts to feel like someone’s watching her, she tries to brush it off but her gut tells her to listen. When she starts to find connections between her possible stalker and a local serial killer - she decides there’s only one thing to do - and that’s to find out who it is.

A quick paced finale in this trilogy and it’s darker than ever before. With symptoms of PTSD and more gruesome played out actions, Jackson has veered away from its original much lighter crime style so be prepared for that if you choose to continue the trilogy. But I cannot say I was not gripped as per usual! I flew through this also in 2 days, my heart racing through the last half! A very well done crime mystery ending nicely tied together.

Good Girl, Bad Blood by Holly Jackson

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

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

3.5

Pip and Ravi have started a podcast after last years murder case. Pip has also sworn off solving murders after all of what happened the year prior. But when Jason, her friend Connor’s older brother goes missing, what else can she do?

As I tend to find, sequels don’t live quite up to my original first book loves, particularly second books which create tensions for book three in a trilogy. Which as much as this held tensions for me till near the end, it fell a bit flatter than book one, with hopes for book three to be better once again! But I demolished this in 2 days. So it’s definitely worth it. 😎

A Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

Pip is an A student who for her final year project has chosen to look at a cold case murder from 5 years earlier. But will getting close to the truth be worth the risks?

This YA murder mystery did not feel very YA sometimes towards the end but maybe that’s just to be expected with a murder mystery 🤣 but wowee! This had me hooked and racing through in 2 days! If you love a good murder mystery book but want something with some lighter touches at times then look no further! Now I can’t wait to binge the other two books and the TV series! 😍

Stolen Kiss by Spencer Greene

challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

It’s the holiday season and Anna is back home in her small conservative home town which is never fun when you’re liberal, queer and your parents are extra conservative. Or when you meet a gorgeous woman at the bar who you share a stolen kiss with just to find out it’s your brother’s new girlfriend… or is it just the start of something?

This very much gives off Kiss Her Once For Me by Alison Cochrun but with less queer acceptance due to this one being set in a small conservative American town. And the cheating aspect with the bi MC Louise, the brother’s girlfriend. But it was a short novel with some fun sprinkled in around learning to accept and love yourself.

Thanks NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for this ARC.

All Boys Aren't Blue by George M. Johnson

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

George M Johnson shares so much raw beauty in this memoir. He shares different experiences of growing up as a black queer person and how his family accepting his queerness influenced and supported a lot of his identity despite not coming out until college. He shares important stories about his name, his friends and his college fraternity. There are no clear cut answers in this memoir, just raw honesty of experiences and it’s beautiful. Learning to realise it’s okay if it takes longer to have certain experiences, to come out, to learn about yourself. Johnson does a beautiful job with it all.

Nick and Charlie by Alice Oseman

dark emotional reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Nick and Charlie is a spin off novella really of Solitaire rather than the Heartstopper graphic novel series. And by that I mean - it is not age varied like Heartstopper is, because it’s a lot darker. But it’s still a heartwarming novella in a lot of ways, but faces the realities a bit of facing Nick going off to college. It’s a great middle run between book 4 of Heartstopper. I don’t know if it’s possible to get too much of their love?!! I remember my first relationship and hoping it was it, and although I couldn’t be more grateful it wasn’t or the next 3 relationships… I love seeing that first true love vibe! 😍😍