gillyreads's reviews
1138 reviews

Rifqa by Mohammed El-Kurd

Excellent

The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston

emotional hopeful inspiring sad medium-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? No

Had everything I loved from Dead Romantics but with a timeslip premise instead a ghost. 
I think she's particularly good at writing about grief in a deep and real way that still somehow is integral to an overall delightful romance.

Unicorn Time Machine: Another Phoebe and Her Unicorn Adventure by Dana Simpson

Always worth picking up Pheobe and Her Unicorn

Unicorn Crush by Dana Simpson

Fun as always

Rustler Mountain by Maisey Yates

Maisey Yates is very experienced romance writer, and I have read quite a few of her books. I personally enjoy her usual relationship dynamics, particularly her emphasis on the emotional turmoil of deciding to be vulnerable. I think Rustler Mountain is one of her best, I loved the premise, and particularly the centrality of the library and both characters love of reading.  I really enjoyed the grappling with history, both as a community and indivudal characters. I also liked the way both of the characters had been so strongly impacted by the way their families were talked about but in different ways. I did think it was a bit funny that they talked about land back as something people should care about, when Austin owned a cattle ranch. Literally could give actual land back. I enjoyed the gradual way all of Millie's misconceptions were unravelled, and how she delt with the shock of discovering her ancestors were actually terrible (something some one in anyway aware of how America was founded probably shouldn't have found shocking).

Overall though, a very enjoyable romance read with a good balance of emotions, plot and character development.

I received a copy of this on Netgalley.

When the Mountains Roared by Jess Butterworth

adventurous emotional medium-paced

I found this an enjoyable read. I particularly thought the author did a great job of dealing with Ruby's grief over her mother's death. 

I did find the taking a baby kangeroo to India part a bit frustrating as I found it hard to get past how that was a terrible idea

Loving Corrections by adrienne maree brown

hopeful informative inspiring reflective

I found this to be an interseting and thought provoking collection. I appreciated the range of topics and the straightforward and accessible language. My favourite essay was "Righting Imagination: Celebrating Ursula and Her Loving Corrections" and I also really appreciated the coversation between her sisters. Definitely worth reading if you're interested in how to hold community better.

Winnie-The-Pooh by A.A. Milne

Cute

Dragon Skin by Karen Foxlee

emotional hopeful sad

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

This beautifully written book is one to be savoured. While following a fairly simple, if fantastical, premise, this book grapples with a lot of emotional complexity. The setting is incredibly vivid and immersive, I loved the characters and the shifting relationships between the kids. Overall, I thought it was a really heartachingly beautiful way to tell a story that examines both grief and abuse.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, and Car accident

Truly Madly Magically by Hazel Beck

emotional funny hopeful sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

Loved this one, I think the story improves with each book in this series.

I do find it a bit weird that Joywood are supposedly in charge of the whole world of witches when the story feels very small town, it just doesn't really fit.