libraryofthieves's reviews
420 reviews

Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo

4.5

Wish You Weren't Here by Erin Baldwin

4.5

This book was so much fun to read! I loved all the characters and a camp setting is always a win for me.

Priya and Juliette were such a cute couple and I loved their dynamic. It wasn’t a typical enemies to lovers story, and not even really rivals to lovers. It was such a unique relationship and I absolutely loved it. Their growth together and individually was really well done. I especially liked Juliette’s arc around her love of the camp and coming to terms with it being her last year. 

I would happily read a sequel about these two and I can’t wait to see what Erin Baldwin does next!

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review

Second Night Stand by Karelia Stetz-Waters, Fay Stetz-Waters

4.0

This book was so unlike anything I’ve read before and it was so refreshing! The representation and diversity is simply amazing with messaging throughout of self love and expressing who you are. 

I loved the emotional journeys of Lillian and Izzy both together and on their own. The openness around themes of communication, therapy and trauma was also really well done and highly relatable. 

The relationship itself was so sweet and healthy and I had a lot of fun reading about them! 

I really enjoyed this book and I highly recommend it if you’re looking for a sweet sapphic romance with well-developed characters. 

Thank you to Forever for the ARC and finished copy of this book. 

The Honey Witch by Sydney J. Shields

4.0

The book started off a little slow and it felt like it was just trying to get to the part it needed to be at to really start the story. A little too much telling rather than showing.

Once things picked up around a third of the way through though, I was hooked. The relationship didn’t happen exactly the way I was expecting which made it really fresh and enjoyable to me. The plot developed really well, with enough foreshadowing for me to suspect things but not too much that the reveals weren’t satisfying.

I felt like the ending could have used a little bit more. One big battle at the end would have been a bit cliche so I liked the choice, I just think it could have used another chapter so it didn’t wrap up quite so quickly.

Overall, really enjoyed. The relationship was sweet and fun to read about and the setting was really cool. Loved the Queer-normative world as well!

Thank you to Orbit Redhook for the ARC of this book!

Not Like Other Girls by Meredith Adamo

emotional inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced

4.0

This book was a really complete story to me. The mystery was interesting, the romance was sweet and felt true to the age group and Jo was a well written character who felt really relatable. I think my only critique is some parts could have been tightened up a little and the end could have used a little more

This book has lot more going for it though. While the disappearance of Jo’s former best friend Maddie Price kept me hooked, I think the themes of consent and sexual assault are what really make this book stand out.

We find out what happened to Jo slowly, over the course of the book and I think that was a really good way of handling it. It allowed the reader to discover what happened through Jo’s feelings and recollections, rather than be being told right away. This method really allowed for more emotional depth and exploration to me. By the end, the message is really powerful and I hope it resonants with people, especially those who need it the most.

Thank you to Bloomsbury and Bloomsbury Audio for the advanced copies in exchange for an honest review.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault and Sexual harassment

The Royals Next Door by Karina Halle

3.5

Super cute, fun and quick read. This is very clearly based on Harry and Megan so if you enjoy them, you might like this book as well!

I really enjoyed the simplicity of this one. The relationship wasn’t overly complicated or drama-filled and the characters were all enjoyable to read and full of relatable life experiences! Harrison and Piper’s relationship was really cute and the flirting and banter was amazing! I loved how it played out, not too quick but not a slow burn either.

Also, Piper’s relationship with her mother and PTSD was handled so well and really added great emotional depth to the story. Those plots are what made the book really stand out to me from other contemporary romances and was pretty unique.

The Last Love Song by Kalie Holford
Did not finish book. Stopped at 46%.

DNF @46%

This book had potential but unfortunately had so many things that could have been better.

Firstly, the entire plot was just so contrived. The town is basically a memorial to Mia’s mother and yet nobody can, or will, tell her anything of substance about her mother. Instead her mother leaves her a scavenger hunt to find pages of her old diary when she graduates high school. Why her grandmothers would refuse to tell her anything about her mother, who knows.

The emotional turmoil of Mia’s relationship to music and performing also felt very artificial. At almost halfway through the book, I still have no idea what was holding her back aside from some mysterious incident the last time she performed.

The entire book just lacked emotional depth. I couldn’t connect to any of the characters because everything was just so overdramatic and unrealistic. The plot of discovering who her mother was on a personal level should have been really heartfelt and instead I was just frustrated the entire time by how little sense anything made. Oh, she also doesn’t know who her dad is for some reason.

Aside from the plot, the writing was just bad. Repetitive descriptions, overly dramatic dialogue and purple prose really pulled me out of the story. And if I have to read about ‘the music’ one more time…

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Bagging the Blueliner by Siena Trap
Did not finish book. Stopped at 10%.

DNF @10%

I really loved the idea of this story, but unfortunately it just didn’t work for me. I didn’t connect with the characters at all. I really didn’t like Hannah. Our first introduction of her is her running up to someone she doesn’t know (Cal) to yell at him about his play style. I found her immature and kind of annoying. For someone who loves hockey so much and knows so much about it, I don’t understand why she wouldn’t just get a job doing something with that sooner, especially considering her dad is a coach and later offers her a job with the team.

At 30 years old, her main motivation is to sleep with a hockey player to defy her dad. I’m all for a woman who knows what she wants but I really couldn’t get behind this being her biggest goal in life that she’s been obsessed with for like 10 years. Maybe this is part of her character development later in the book but I was not invested in her enough to have the patience to wait for that.

Also, the low-key sexism of Hannah being so ‘not like other girls’ because she understands hockey…no thanks

Cage of Ice and Echoes by Pam Godwin

3.5

I enjoyed this book almost as much as the first. I felt like this one was a little more character driven than the first, which isn’t a bad thing but I’m not particularly invested in any of the characters. There was a lot of inner monologuing from the boys about how they had to protect Frankie and the whole caveman thing started to get old and repetitive real fast. A lot of those scenes could have been majorly cut down.

My main reason for finishing the book - and the series - is because I find the plot really intriguing. This book had a lot of big reveals and I thoroughly enjoyed finding out Monty’s backstory and the parentage of the boys.

I’m not sure how I feel about the reveal at the end. I have hope that it will be incorporated well in the third book but right now it feels a bit thrown in and doesn’t really make sense to me. I’m also not sure how I’m going to feel about this new setting now that the survival aspect of the story is basically resolved. That was my main enjoyment of the series and I’m worried I won’t like it as much without that.

I plan to still read the last book though so we’ll see if everything ties together in the end!

Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner

4.5