grace_astudentreading's reviews
435 reviews

Blacktop Wasteland by S.A. Cosby

dark tense medium-paced

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

4.0

This is only my second S. A. Cosby but I can already tell he will be a favorite author for years to come. Like Razorblade Tears, this book pushed me far out of my comfort zone, but I loved every page of it. Bug is an incredibly complex and compelling main character. Obviously, as this is at the end of the day a thriller, there is a lot of external conflict. There is intense and violent action, and crazy fights and car chases, and twists and turns everywhere. But what hooked me and made me truly love this book was the internal conflict Bug faced. The true heart of this book is not the heist, it’s Bug’s relationship with his father. That is what drives Bug to make the choices he makes over the entirety of the book. It’s the root of his biggest fears and his life goals. It’s a source of pain and a source of hope. It’s his achilles heel. So yes I was all here for the car chases and the one man wrecking machine, but I was absolutely enthralled by Bug’s inner turmoil. And the ending in regards to that was perfect. Overall, I highly recommend this book and S. A. Cosby as an author.

Joined at the Joints by Marissa Eller

lighthearted medium-paced

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

5.0

Advanced reader's copy review

This is the year where I read books that make me feel seen and I love it. First Dear Wendy and now this book. While I may not have the same diagnosis as Ivy and my symptoms are thankfully not as severe, I totally relate to her joint pain and stiffness. I also relate to her social anxiety. And lastly I relate to her love of cooking, brunch, and cooking shows (especially Chopped). So I truly adore Ivy as a main character. I love that I can relate to her. I love her devotion to her family and the unique and wholesome relationship she has with each member. I love her development learning to open up about her illness more and let people in and advocate for herself better. I love her absolutely adorable romance with Grant. I think Grant might be the best young adult love interest I have ever read. He is such a good person, and so totally in love with Ivy. He is always there to support her and gets along with her family and is overall a ridiculously perfect boyfriend. Overall this is a ridiculously amazing book, and I cannot recommend it enough!

Thank you Holiday House and Edelweiss for the free advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

House of Many Ways by Diana Wynne Jones

adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes

4.0

This book was much more in line with my expectations than the last one. And while I did not enjoy it quite as much as the first book in the series, I still definitely loved it! For starters I loved Charmain. She is a bookworm, which is automatic green flag in a character. She also shares my affection for pastries. But aside from our similarities, I also loved her for her character development. She begins the book incredibly sheltered, and has to learn how to be her own person and stand for herself. And of course I loved the other characters, especially Sophie, Howl, and Calcifer. I was thrilled to be back with them for a whole book, and it was so funny to read them an outsider’s perspective. As for the setting, this was probably one of my favorite parts of the book. The house was absolutely fascinating, and I wish we had gotten more time in it with Charmain exploring it. As for the plot, it was as complex, clever, and fun as I have come to expect from Diana Wynne Jones. Overall I loved this book and highly recommend!

Castle in the Air by Diana Wynne Jones

adventurous lighthearted slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

3.0

So here is my deal with this book: I read the synopsis and thought it had nothing to do with Sophie and Howl. Then I read the reviews which told me it had everything to do with Sophie and Howl. And then I read the book and established that both the synopsis and the reviews were correct. And to be quite honest my feelings on that are mixed. On the one hand, I did not really enjoy the first 250 pages of this book. I did not care that much about the main character and found the plot kind of boring. It was easy to read so I didn’t feel the need to dnf and the 250 pages really did fly by, but I wasn’t riveted or really invested. On the other hand, I loved the ending. It was funny and chaotic and messy yet clever. Everything came together and made sense, and everyone got a happy ending. I don’t want to spoil anything, but the ending was truly brilliant and amazing. It made the rest of the book worth it to me. So overall I don’t regret reading this book and I did enjoy it in the end but it did not meet my expectations.

Nothing but the Truth by Robyn Gigl

emotional informative tense medium-paced

4.0

Advanced reader's copy review

Another amazing book in the Erin McCabe series! This one opened so hard and fast with so much action I was immediately and happily dragged into the story. For starters, I continue to worship Erin as a main character. I love her so much and her arc in this story is absolutely amazing. She had great internal conflict between the continued effects of the events of the last book and her life choices in this book. And of course, I continue to love the side characters. Mark and Peg and Sean and Liz are all amazing! And Swish was the best! I loved getting to see him practicing law more. I think I am finally learning to appreciate the court scenes, and I actually really enjoyed all of those scenes. The way the court became like a giant game of chess that truly had me riveted. I did struggle a bit with Jon, who I didn’t feel Erin connected with as much as she did with her clients in the other books. But I still really liked him by the end of the story. Overall, I continue to love this series with my whole heart and highly recommend this installment!

Thank you Kensington for the free advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

Is is really any surprise that the book the one of my all time favorite movies is based on is a five star read? Of course not. Is it a surprise that I loved the book even more than the movie? Nope. But what is a surprise is that this book is actually quite different from the movie and that was the biggest reason I enjoyed it as much as I did. Which was so very much. This book was an instant favorite. First of all, I adored all the characters. Sophie is the character of my heart and soul. I love how much we see her grow over this book. She becomes fierce and fearless and confident and absolutely amazing. I love her with every fiber of my being. Of course, I also adored Michael and Calcifer. Calcifer is absolutely hysterical and Michael is so sweet. All together with Howl they make the cutest found family ever. Of course, I loved Sophie’s bio family as well. Martha and Lettie were both so amazing and had absolutely amazing relationships with each other and Sophie. Lastly for characters, the Witch of the Wastes was an amazing villain. The plot and world were just as amazing as the characters. I loved the magic so much and had a blast reading about it, especially the fight scenes. As for the plot, it seemed slow until the end when everything came together so cleverly and you fully understood what all had been happening the entire time. So overall this book was everything to me and I loved it so much and I cannot recommend it enough! 

Moonstorm by Yoon Ha Lee

adventurous tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

Advanced reader’s copy review

This was a fantastic start to what I know will be a fantastic sci-fi series! It was incredibly fast paced from the start, with so much action, and I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. I do wish it had had some more slower moments to get to know the characters better. But I still loved them so much. Hwa Young is a great main character, with so much drive and determination and internal conflict over her identity and loyalty. I love her so much! I also loved Bae and Geum and Seong Su. Each one had their own unique personalities and their own unique relationship with Hwa Young. I particularly loved the rivalry between Hwa Young and Bae and how they slowly became friends over the course of the book. Lastly, I love the lancers so much! They are so cool, and the connection between Hwa Young and her lancer was so well written I felt like I was right there with them experiencing the same thing. And of course, I adored that this book is set in a queer norm society. Overall, I highly recommend this book and I cannot wait for the series to continue. 

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Children’s for the free advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review 

Middle of the Night by Riley Sager

emotional mysterious tense

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.0

Advanced reader's copy review

This book took me longer to get into than I expected from a Riley Sager book, but ultimately it was so worth it in the end. For starters, I am a sucker for any book that is told alternating between past and present, and this book is no exception. I especially liked how the present was in limited first person narration while the past was told in multiple third person points of view. It allowed for a better understanding of what happened in the past than if it was just 10 year old Ethan. And I found Ethan a very relatable main character. I too suffer from insomnia and turn into an unreliable narrator when I’m sleep deprived. And I thought Sager did an amazing job showing how childhood trauma follows a person into adulthood, while also giving Ethan enough healing over the course of the story to make the reader happy. As for the plot, while it started slow it always had a steady level of tension, then as it ramped up towards the end there were so many crazy and amazing twists. I absolutely loved the ending it was perfection in my mind. I highly recommend this book!

Thank you Dutton for the free advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

Running Close to the Wind by Alexandra Rowland

adventurous funny lighthearted slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

Advanced reader's copy review

This book sells itself perfectly: “queer pirates and comedy.” It is the definition of lighthearted. And also raunchy. And I loved every page. For starters, I loved the main character Avra so much. He is chaos personified, and had me in stitches every scene. Yet he also clearly cared so much about the people in his life and was so sweet in his own obnoxious little way. I also loved Tev and Julian and the rest of the crew just as much. Especially Tev, but I know wrapping them up in a warm fuzzy blanket the way I want to would get me stabbed. But even more than I loved any one character, I loved Avra and Tev and Julian together. Now, as for the plot, I honestly forgot about the main plot at points due to all the ‘side quests’ that were going on. But the side quests were so much fun, especially the cake competition. And in the end everything came together brilliantly and perfectly. Lastly, in terms of other stuff I liked how well the world was developed when it mattered and the other little cute bits of fantasy setting and whimsy. Overall, a fantastic read!

Thank you Netgalley and Tor Publishing Group for the free advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

My Beautiful Enemy by Sherry Thomas

adventurous emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

This book was the perfect romance book for me! First of all, it was told in one of my favorite ways ever, with alternating timelines switching between Leighton and Catherine’s past in Chinese Turkestan and their present in England. I loved both timelines, though they were very different, and both characters. In the earlier period they are both more relaxed, more able to be their true selves so isolated away from the rest of the world. Catherine is utterly captivating, full of energy and at her peak as a martial artist. And Leighton is so caring and devoted to her. They are purer, younger, wilder version of themselves, and I loved them so much. Then in England they have both become so much harder people, but they are still so drawn to one another. Catherine who is still so deep in her grief and Leighton who is trying to move on. The angst and tension is absolutely delightful. Of course, there is also fantastic conflict outside of their relationship. I loved the fight scenes and the martial arts so much! Overall, I highly recommend this duology!