justinlife's reviews
850 reviews

This Is Kind of an Epic Love Story by Kacen Callender

emotional lighthearted tense slow-paced

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

2.5

I think if you title your book this, it should be kind of epic. And it wasn’t. 

The story is told in first person narrative by Nate, a Junior in high school who lost his dad 7 years ago. His old friend comes back to town and feelings get reignited. 

I wasn’t expecting this to be a high school story. I wasn’t thrilled with Nate’s perspective or actions, but he’s a teenage boy. They do dumb things and feel dumb feelings and think dumb thoughts. 

I appreciated the characters’ fluidity and how it didn’t seem to matter what gender anyone was dating. I appreciated seeing someone hard of hearing as a main character. It was fun great to see how that can work out. 

Overall this book is just ok. But I’m an old crone so there’s that. I hope the people who need to read it can enjoy it. 

Icebreaker by A.L. Graziadei

emotional informative lighthearted reflective slow-paced

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

3.5

This is a solid YA read that's less romance and more a personal journey with mental health. The cover is cute, and I'm a sucker for a cute cover. 

The novel is told in first person narrative and explores anxiety and clinical depression while being a young adult figuring out their athletic journey and potential romance. It was overall a fun read. I'm glad there are novels for young queer people who might need to see someone working through mental health issues. This was done with respect and care. 

Overall, it's a good enemies to lovers tale. One of the problems I had was there were a lot of supporting characters that made it hard to remember. Both characters have a full life and it felt real, it was just a lot to keep up with. 

Deadbeat Druid by David R. Slayton

adventurous emotional lighthearted mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

This was a lot of fun. I’m not one for supernatural road trip books, but Slayton’s view of the afterlife was fun to explore. The characters get growth and he continues to shape a world that I want him to play more in. Adam Binder is a great protagonist and I love we get books like this. The ending felt a bit rushed but Slayton writes so well that I didn’t realize how fast I flew through this book. 

I hope there’s more here.

Trailer Park Trickster by David R. Slayton

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.25

I really enjoyed this follow up. Slayton writes a well structured, fun sequel to White Trash Warlock. Here Adam deals with his family while Vic deals with the Immortals. I appreciate how Slayton paces his novels, how he shows his characters kindness and compassion, and how he writes to where you don't want to put it down. The world that he built does get expanded upon some, but not much, which is fine. He created a solid base in the first one. Adam is still Adam and the characters that have been changed by the events in the first book seem to deal with it in their own way. 

Looking forward to book three. 

I'll Take Everything You Have by James Klise

adventurous dark informative mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

2.75

This book was fine. You can tell it’s well researched but it felt like a chore and I couldn’t tell who the audience was supposed to be. Good for hun for writing a YA gay coming of age set in 1930s Chicago. 

Café Con Lychee by Emery Lee

emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted fast-paced

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

3.25

I wanted to read this novel because the title was fun. The book deals with Theo and Gabi as both of their bakeries their families run is losing business due to a new fusion cuisine. Hijinks ensue when both of them try to team up to save the businesses. Very enemies to lovers. 

Much to my chagrin, I did not think this book was dealing with highschoolers. I thought early twenties. Them being in high school makes sense for the amount of emotional turmoil they are going through, but like the plot felt very early 20s. Why give that subject matter to teens? 

The characters deal with their own issues and it makes sense for the genre, but it didn't feel real. I don't feel comfortable low rating this book b/c I'm an old crone and there are some people out there who will see this, have fun, feel seen, and even relate. For the YA m/m romance genre, this is fine. The characters have so much anger at the beginning of the book, it makes it hard to like them. As the book continues, they soften and they become endearing. I think young adults would get a lot out of this. The writing is clear and the plot moves along. 

White Trash Warlock by David R. Slayton

adventurous dark emotional lighthearted mysterious tense 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

4.0

I was genuinely surprised by this book. I think the title and cover threw me off. I think I was expecting something in the vein of Christopher Moore's work- something a bit campy, funny, not taking itself too seriously. 

Instead, we have a novel here that starts a series, shows queer characters as leads, slowly reveals its world, keeps its audience guessing, but also letting them enjoy the ride. I was really surprised at how well constructed this book was. I was thinking about halfway through that this is what I wanted from the Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher. 

Slayton develops a world where magic exists alongside us and those who have the gifts either deny it or are considered the outliers in the community. We see a novel where the world building never overshadows the story. We get stories and B plots that aren't about magic, but are about family connection and sometimes the difficulty families have communicating. We get financial issues and running or hiding from a poor past. We also get a plot that doesn't stop. It keeps going and keeps the audience guessing and it's a fun time. It also helped that the book wasn't told in first person narrative. We get to see a bigger picture and we're not fully stuck in a character's head. 

I really enjoyed this book. I think there's a lot to dive in here and I look forward to reading the other volumes. I would recommend this for people who are wanting something in the vein of the Dresden Files, but with more queer development and a fun world to play in.

Never Been Kissed by Timothy Janovsky

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted relaxing 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

This was a fun read. This is what I want from a rom com novel. You have a lead that has unrealistic expectations of love and life. Supporting characters who love him, yet call him out, and a plot straight out of a made for TV movie. 

Wren just graduated with a film studies degree and is figuring himself out during that summer when you’re ready to grow up and you know change is coming. He does stubborn and ridiculous things but Janovsky never veers his character to self loathing. It was a refreshing change from other romance novels. I appreciated how the characters found ways to communicate that felt healthy. Janovsky also allows his characters the opportunity to explore demi sexuality, which was a nice change and something I’ve not read before.

You can tell Janovsky has a love of film and was a film studies student cuz his world was fluid and felt lived in. 

Overall what I thought would be a dumb rom com ended up being far more fun and interesting than I expected.

Blackwater by Jeannette Arroyo, Ren Graham

adventurous lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

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

3.0

This was a cute read and I’d be interested in a second volume as many of the  characters and stories still felt unfinished. The other reviews regarding disabilities should be considered. I wasn’t aware when I was reading that some of the characters’ portrayals weren’t accurate. That can be a problem if you’re trying to be inclusive but unaware of the harm. 

The main two characters were interesting and fun. I wasn’t expecting a trans masc character and I had some questions regarding the healthcare they experienced with the age they were supposed to be. 

Overall though I enjoyed the art and the story and it made for, what I hope is the first volume. 

In Five Years by Rebecca Serle

emotional reflective sad fast-paced

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

2.0

Sigh. 

This book was ok. It wasn’t great, I didn’t like it that much, but it’s fine. It’s an easy, quick read where Serle tries to get her audience to care about a corporate lawyer with control issues. The book is basically Beaches but with a corporate lawyer instead of a singer.

The premise was a solid one but she didn’t do much with it. There are many directions this book could’ve gone and things that could’ve happened to the character that felt earned but alas, it didn’t. 

Told in first person narrative from the POV of the lawyer, I would’ve thought that she would have made that character more likable or interesting. Unfortunately she didn’t. 

The book didn’t work for me but it wasn’t painful, just unfortunate. When the book takes a sharp left in the middle, it felt exhausting. Luckily her writing style was easy/breezy.