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kays_reading_journal's reviews
345 reviews
Not in Love by Ali Hazelwood
3.75
Content Warning: I’m sure there’s others but Eating Disorders and Food Insecurity is a huge one. Rue’s issues with food are discussed over and over again yet I don’t believe it’s ever actually labeled as an eating disorder (which I think perpetrates some harm).
Okay- if I don’t think critically about this at all It’s a good book. It held my attention, it was entertaining, sex scenes were good (if a lil too instant lust for me). But. Critically-
Rue has a LOT of autistic traits- and they’re pretty central to the plot (these traits are presented as the reason she’s not close to many people) But it is never brought up once that these are autistic traits. It felt very much: “let’s make this girl quirky and weird so the guy can help her see she’s actually ‘normal’ and fun”
Anyway- I waited too long to write this review so that’s all I’ve got. Loved parts of it, didn’t like other parts.
Okay- if I don’t think critically about this at all It’s a good book. It held my attention, it was entertaining, sex scenes were good (if a lil too instant lust for me). But. Critically-
Rue has a LOT of autistic traits- and they’re pretty central to the plot (these traits are presented as the reason she’s not close to many people) But it is never brought up once that these are autistic traits. It felt very much: “let’s make this girl quirky and weird so the guy can help her see she’s actually ‘normal’ and fun”
Anyway- I waited too long to write this review so that’s all I’ve got. Loved parts of it, didn’t like other parts.
Thief of the Heights by Robin Yao, Son M.
4.0
This SFF Graphic Novel had strong characters, beautiful art, and a strong base for a plot, but the novel was too short for the plot to be developed to its full potential.
The character designs were incredible! I’d love to see all of these characters more in the future. And you could tell so much effort went into designing the world, the shots that were “zoomed out” were so beautiful. The found family was so fun <3
The plot wasn’t the best tho. But a disclaimer- some pages in the arc were out of order, so it was difficult to follow at times. I really liked the base of the plot, but I don’t think the book was long enough for it to fully develop.
I think revolution is always relevant, more so even today, but that makes me wish that there would have been some sort of epilogue. The ending just felt very abrupt.
Thank you to NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
I'll Get Back to You by Becca Grischow
3.0
I’ll Get Back to You is a new adult sapphic romance. The two MC’s (Murphy and Ellie, both 21) enter a fake dating relationship after reconnecting right before Thanksgiving. The novel spans the time between Thanksgiving- New Years from Murphy’s pov.
I really enjoyed the start of this book, it was so strong! It felt like a meet cute winter montage as we saw Ellie and Murphy connect after a fight with Murphy’s best friend, Kat.
However after this night, the romance aspect falls out of play a bit. While Ellie is still in the story, it focuses on Murphy’s friendship with Kat, her parents, and figuring out what she wants to do after college. I didn’t really like Murphy as a character, so I think this is why I didn’t enjoy this part of the book.
The characters also felt a lot younger to me. I am 21, so I thought I’d relate a lot, but almost of the time, it felt like the story would’ve been the same if they were 16. I was actually thrown off for a second when there was a sex scene because I had forgotten they were adults.
Overall, I enjoyed some aspects of it, but I probably won’t pick up anything from this author again. I think this would’ve been better marketed as a New Adult Contemporary with a side of romance. Thank you NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Drug use, Toxic friendship
Pride and Protest by Nikki Payne
3.0
An entire page of Harry Potter talk, as well as toxic family dynamics, toxic *possible* love interests, and unlikable characters.
Sadly only took notes on the negatives but I originally rated this 3.75 so it couldn’t have been that bad?
Sadly only took notes on the negatives but I originally rated this 3.75 so it couldn’t have been that bad?
Give Me a Sign by Anna Sortino
5.0
I swear I wrote a review for this??? Anyways I do remember that I absolutely loved this, it will be a yearly reread for me and I will always recommend it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Sexual harassment
Moderate: Alcohol
This Ravenous Fate by Hayley Dennings
Did not finish book. Stopped at 56%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 56%.
2.5/5 stars. DNFed at 56% and skimmed the rest.
This Ravenous Fate is a Sapphic YA Historical Fantasy that switches between the perspectives of Layla, a reaper (vamp) and Elise, the heir to a reaper hunter empire. Sounds amazing right? Eh
I, along with many other reviewers, was so excited to dive into this book. But it just didn’t deliver. I was originally going to try to push through and finish it, until I read other reviews and found that it didn’t get better.
I found the murder mystery plot to be boring, the Worldbuilding to not be well described, and the relationship between the main characters to be lacking.
The plot is slow. The first 25% sets up what the synopsis already told us, the next 25% (and possibly more) was Elise and Layla meeting every few days to search for a murderer. But this was not an exciting adventure- it was a boring few paragraphs about everything going wrong and the two of them sucking at their jobs.
This is a childhood friends, to enemies, to lovers- but there aren’t sufficient flashbacks to show their previous friendship, or even why they became enemies. Because this isn’t established, the dynamic was off putting, and also made it difficult to understand when they started to develop feeling for each other.
Elise is also pretty unlikable. I understand that unlikable narrators are some peoples jams, but she wasn’t marketed this way.
As for the worldbuilding, we’re kinda just told that this takes place in 1920s New York, but the setting isn’t really built upon. There’s a few aspects of the book that rely on prohibition, but I had a really difficult time imagining the world. The characters felt as if they were taken from 2024 and put into the 1920s.
I am truly confused by the higher reviews. I wish I could’ve loved this! I just feel like we read completely different books.
I received an eARC from NetGalley in exchange for a review.
This Ravenous Fate is a Sapphic YA Historical Fantasy that switches between the perspectives of Layla, a reaper (vamp) and Elise, the heir to a reaper hunter empire. Sounds amazing right? Eh
I, along with many other reviewers, was so excited to dive into this book. But it just didn’t deliver. I was originally going to try to push through and finish it, until I read other reviews and found that it didn’t get better.
I found the murder mystery plot to be boring, the Worldbuilding to not be well described, and the relationship between the main characters to be lacking.
The plot is slow. The first 25% sets up what the synopsis already told us, the next 25% (and possibly more) was Elise and Layla meeting every few days to search for a murderer. But this was not an exciting adventure- it was a boring few paragraphs about everything going wrong and the two of them sucking at their jobs.
This is a childhood friends, to enemies, to lovers- but there aren’t sufficient flashbacks to show their previous friendship, or even why they became enemies. Because this isn’t established, the dynamic was off putting, and also made it difficult to understand when they started to develop feeling for each other.
Elise is also pretty unlikable. I understand that unlikable narrators are some peoples jams, but she wasn’t marketed this way.
As for the worldbuilding, we’re kinda just told that this takes place in 1920s New York, but the setting isn’t really built upon. There’s a few aspects of the book that rely on prohibition, but I had a really difficult time imagining the world. The characters felt as if they were taken from 2024 and put into the 1920s.
I am truly confused by the higher reviews. I wish I could’ve loved this! I just feel like we read completely different books.
I received an eARC from NetGalley in exchange for a review.
Four Eids and a Funeral by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé, Adiba Jaigirdar
Did not finish book. Stopped at 20%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 20%.
I just wasn’t vibing with the audiobook :( I’ll try the physical when my library gets it!
I Hope This Doesn't Find You by Ann Liang
3.5
The ending was top notch. I loved it so much. I just didn’t feel like the rest of the book had the same vibe.
This is a single pov and I’m so sad we didn’t get Julius’ pov. I feel like it would’ve been so good!
I felt the feelings from Julius, but I never really felt them from Sadie.
I enjoyed it while reading, I actively wanted to pick it up, but I don’t see myself ever rereading it.
I’m sad because a lot of my friends REALLY loved this one but I was just never pulled into the characters.
This is a single pov and I’m so sad we didn’t get Julius’ pov. I feel like it would’ve been so good!
I felt the feelings from Julius, but I never really felt them from Sadie.
I enjoyed it while reading, I actively wanted to pick it up, but I don’t see myself ever rereading it.
I’m sad because a lot of my friends REALLY loved this one but I was just never pulled into the characters.