lanidon's reviews
1770 reviews

Honey by Victor Lodato

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 25%.
DNF @ 25% 

I didn't jive with the narration style, plus a story like this requires a compassionate mc
Bury Your Gays by Chuck Tingle

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3.0

I'm sorry Dr Chuck, I feel so conflicted about this one. I enjoyed the main narrative but I really hated the metanarrative. The characters don't really connect emotionally unfortunately. The social commentary was so heavy handed without actually saying much of anything at all. It felt like a 2014 meta dialogue thrown into a very 2024 story. The horror elements were so imaginative and cool, but the framework around them didn't hold up to their potential. 
Bittersweet by Sarina Bowen

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3.0

I liked the story and characters but the sex scenes were so bad and so sudden and so numerous
The Art of Catching Feelings by Alicia Thompson

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4.0

You've Got Mail: Sport Edition

Very sweet, a good amount of depth and complexity, only a minor amount of frustrating miscommunication. I wish the minor characters and a bit of the world were more fleshed out, but overall a very solid romance. The couple was believable and felt like such a good match
Initiation by Alethea Faust

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5.0

I read this fully expecting it to be trashy fun, but it's genuinely well crafted and compelling. The characters, the setting, the plot, the magic system... All so well done
The Prospects by KT Hoffman

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5.0

This is not the number one best romance I've ever read, there are definitely some shaky bits as a debut, but I smiled so hard through the whole thing and couldn't possibly give it below 5 stars. It's a five star experience, but objectively a four star book. I cannot wait to see what the author does next.

I love the slow burn of carefully rebuilding their friendship before coming together romantically. I love the added depth that being in the minors brings as everyone is in different stages of their careers. I love the team atmosphere (even though they could be a little more fleshed out). I love seeing them play a full season together.

This book has a few elements I typically am wary of in romance but finally done well. I'm normally put off by ADHD depictions because they tend to act like it's a cute and quirky trait, instead of a real struggle people have to deal with and accommodate for as is shown in this. Anxiety is often depicted like a quivering chihuahua, so I really appreciated how it affected Luis; he shuts down in a way that makes him seem cold and brusque when really it's his body trying to protect him from his anxiety.

 I'm normally hesitant with lighthearted trans books because they tend to be a 101 course for cis people instead of actually fleshing out the trans character. It was so refreshing how this book made being trans a part of Gene without making it the whole of him. It perfectly balances between an idealistic world where it's not a big deal and a realistic one where it still affects him and his goals. I find a lot of lighthearted books will go entirely into a fluffy dreamland which softens the edges so much that nothing makes an emotional impact, that's thankfully not the case here. 

I kinda hope the author expands this world, perhaps a prequel with Jack and Vince... perhaps a Kyle/Kyle/Kyle triad......
A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 13%.
DNF @13%

The writing style and especially the tone really wasn't working for me. It felt strangely blasé about everything, including introducing us to the magic, the mystery, and the characters. Why am I supposed to care about a book that doesn't seem to care about itself? 

The magic is really cool in concept but I could just feel we weren't going to get enough depth to it for my liking. I also genuinely could not tell the characters apart, the two MCs are indistinguishable despite ostensibly being quite different
Vampire Weekend by Mike Chen

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 2%.
Literally read 2%, I just find music references cringe 
The Serrated Edge of Fate by Nikola Harvey

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 33%.
It simply felt like it was going in circles. We can't be together, we can't stay apart, but I'm scared of my family, over and over and over. They decide he has to leave but then oh no actually stay in this house within like an hour of danger. They go to Tokyo for a date so there's no chance of them being seen, but then return together to the outskirts of the city where the danger is. Angel dude can teleport babes, the demons could move so far away and still be able to see each other