Take a photo of a barcode or cover
librovermo's reviews
220 reviews
Illustrated Black History: Honoring the Iconic and the Unseen by George McCalman
5.0
Ever since I learned about Claudette Colvin (thanks, Drunk History), I’ve been interested in learning more about the people behind the scenes of history. Unfortunately, too many of those people belong to marginalized communities. We all know America (and, I mean, a lot of the world) loves to whitewash its history and it’s nice to see books like this that seek to correct that.
I learned… A LOT about Black people who made a significant contributions to our society and culture and have gone unrecognized for far too long. There were a few people who really stood out to me, and among them was Augusta Braxton Baker, who, in 1934, was the first person to receive a bachelors degree in library science. She worked at the New York Public Library and worked to remove books with harmful stereotypes about Black people from the children’s library. She also made sure there was accurate representation in books for Black children. She went on to consult for Sesame Street and someone even wrote a book (called My Dog Rinty) in which she was a character. There are bigger stories in the book, but you will also find stories like Baker’s. Her work might seem small compared to the famous Black people everyone has heard of, like Rosa Parks or Martin Luther King Jr., but it was so important and it touched so many lives.
The art is beautiful. I love that George McCalman used different mediums and that each portrait was heavily influenced by his knowledge of the person he was drawing/painting/etc. It’s obvious that he put great care into creating a portrait for each person that was uniquely theirs.
This would be a really great book to have around to pick up and flip through here and there. The bio on each person is short enough that you could turn to a random page, admire the art, learn something, repeat. That sounds fun. Maybe I’ll buy a copy!
Decadence by Soph Tang
emotional
reflective
5.0
I’m a big fan of Soph’s writing and it’s especially lovely in Decadence. There were a few times where I had to stop and reread lines just to bask in their beauty. Or reread them because they spoke to me so clearly, especially when it came to Elise’s relationship with Viri. Elise has had a lot of the same feelings I’ve had about my own relationship, and it was nice to see them reflected in such a relatable way.
The story was great, with plenty of background info on Elise and Lily’s relationship to help you understand why receiving a text from Lily disrupts her life so severely. Elise spends a lot of time asking herself “what if?” and feeling A LOT of feelings. I saw another review mention “disaster gays” and honestly… yes.
A couple times, I was a little confused while reading but I found that I liked it (especially since it didn’t happen often/didn’t take away from the story). I can’t give specific examples (because spoilers!), but I enjoyed coming up with my own ideas for why they happened and I wonder if certain character behaviors will be further explained in future books.
I’m really intrigued by the concept of the Across Space and Time series. It sounds kind of like a multiverse kind of thing but… a little different, and I like that the books will be different genres. I’m looking forward to reading and learning more about these characters, especially Theo. I need to know more about Theo!
Thank you, Soph, for letting me read an early copy!
The story was great, with plenty of background info on Elise and Lily’s relationship to help you understand why receiving a text from Lily disrupts her life so severely. Elise spends a lot of time asking herself “what if?” and feeling A LOT of feelings. I saw another review mention “disaster gays” and honestly… yes.
A couple times, I was a little confused while reading but I found that I liked it (especially since it didn’t happen often/didn’t take away from the story). I can’t give specific examples (because spoilers!), but I enjoyed coming up with my own ideas for why they happened and I wonder if certain character behaviors will be further explained in future books.
I’m really intrigued by the concept of the Across Space and Time series. It sounds kind of like a multiverse kind of thing but… a little different, and I like that the books will be different genres. I’m looking forward to reading and learning more about these characters, especially Theo. I need to know more about Theo!
Thank you, Soph, for letting me read an early copy!
Greenteeth by Molly O'Neill
3.5
Jenny Greenteeth doesn’t have green teeth, but she does have a lot of them, and they are very sharp. I didn’t think I’d ever encounter a super cozy morally grey character, but here we are.
The first 30% of Greenteeth felt like a nice, cozy fantasy. I found Jenny’s cluelessness about humans both funny and endearing and the addition of Brackus the goblin to the group provided some great banter. But once they set out on their quest, things went a little downhill for me.
Temperance, Brackus, and Jenny visited some amazing locations, but they had to walk to get to them and even with a bit of time skipping (for example “it took us a week to travel from A to Z”), it dragged. I’m quick to DNF when I’m not enjoying a book. I kept reading Greenteeth because I truly was invested in the plot and enjoyed the action (there was more than I expected!) but those stretches of travel made me wonder if I was making the right choice. I look longer than usual to finish the book because I had trouble feeling motivated to read through those parts.
Ultimately, I’m glad I persevered because apart from the travel, I did enjoy the book. I love the folklore, the fairy court, and the evolution of the relationships between Brackus, Jenny, and Temperance. Witnessing Jenny’s growth was especially fun, though I’m not gonna lie: I was a little disappointed at how quickly she outgrew her eager cluelessness from the first chapter. Overall a good read, even with what I felt was uneven pacing.
I received an ARC of Greenteeth from Orbit Books via Netgalley.
The first 30% of Greenteeth felt like a nice, cozy fantasy. I found Jenny’s cluelessness about humans both funny and endearing and the addition of Brackus the goblin to the group provided some great banter. But once they set out on their quest, things went a little downhill for me.
Temperance, Brackus, and Jenny visited some amazing locations, but they had to walk to get to them and even with a bit of time skipping (for example “it took us a week to travel from A to Z”), it dragged. I’m quick to DNF when I’m not enjoying a book. I kept reading Greenteeth because I truly was invested in the plot and enjoyed the action (there was more than I expected!) but those stretches of travel made me wonder if I was making the right choice. I look longer than usual to finish the book because I had trouble feeling motivated to read through those parts.
Ultimately, I’m glad I persevered because apart from the travel, I did enjoy the book. I love the folklore, the fairy court, and the evolution of the relationships between Brackus, Jenny, and Temperance. Witnessing Jenny’s growth was especially fun, though I’m not gonna lie: I was a little disappointed at how quickly she outgrew her eager cluelessness from the first chapter. Overall a good read, even with what I felt was uneven pacing.
I received an ARC of Greenteeth from Orbit Books via Netgalley.
In the Shadow of the Ark by John Nieuwenhuizen, Anne Provoost
Did not finish book. Stopped at 32%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 32%.
This might be a soft DNF. The premise is interesting but I can’t get into it. I find it weird that Noah and his family seem to be white given the geographical location lol but it’s rad that they are described as being totally crazy
Water Moon by Samantha Sotto Yambao
adventurous
mysterious
5.0
This is the kind of book that makes me wish I was better at describing beautiful writing. As I read, there were so many instances where I found myself highlighting lines that spoke not just to me but about life in general in such a perfect way, as if I was reading a book of proverbs. I genuinely can’t wait to see some of the popular highlights on Kindle once the book is released, and I usually ignore those.
I absolutely love how wildly inventive the world of Water Moon is. When Keishin stepped into Hana’s pawnshop, it was like Alice falling through the rabbit hole, but unlike Alice, wandering through Wonderland lost and alone, he had a guide in Hana. The places they visited and ways they moved through the world were always so fun and fascinating. Each location had it’s own special brand of wonder or whimsy, like the Museum of Education, which couldn’t be entered without a ticked purchased with a grain of time when you made a mistake, because its visitors learn from other people’s mistakes. As Kei and Hana traveled on their quest to find Hana’s father, I was invested for multiple reasons: I wanted to know where her father was, I wanted to see how Kei and Hana’s relationship evolved, and I couldn’t wait to see what Samantha Sotto Yambao would come up with next.
The romance between Kei and Hana is sweet, and at first I wished they had fallen just a little more slowly, but I can see why they were so easily drawn to each other. Hana had a lot of inner turmoil over her feelings for Kei having ground up in a world where people have no choice but to follow the path fate has set before them and that was central to a lot of her decisions not only when it came to Kei but throughout their entire journey. Which, by the way, I wasn’t expecting to be so dangerous! It was so exciting and a lot creepier than I thought it would be, and I loved that.
I received an arc of Water Moon from Random House/Del Rey via Netgalley.
I absolutely love how wildly inventive the world of Water Moon is. When Keishin stepped into Hana’s pawnshop, it was like Alice falling through the rabbit hole, but unlike Alice, wandering through Wonderland lost and alone, he had a guide in Hana. The places they visited and ways they moved through the world were always so fun and fascinating. Each location had it’s own special brand of wonder or whimsy, like the Museum of Education, which couldn’t be entered without a ticked purchased with a grain of time when you made a mistake, because its visitors learn from other people’s mistakes. As Kei and Hana traveled on their quest to find Hana’s father, I was invested for multiple reasons: I wanted to know where her father was, I wanted to see how Kei and Hana’s relationship evolved, and I couldn’t wait to see what Samantha Sotto Yambao would come up with next.
The romance between Kei and Hana is sweet, and at first I wished they had fallen just a little more slowly, but I can see why they were so easily drawn to each other. Hana had a lot of inner turmoil over her feelings for Kei having ground up in a world where people have no choice but to follow the path fate has set before them and that was central to a lot of her decisions not only when it came to Kei but throughout their entire journey. Which, by the way, I wasn’t expecting to be so dangerous! It was so exciting and a lot creepier than I thought it would be, and I loved that.
I received an arc of Water Moon from Random House/Del Rey via Netgalley.
An Accident of Stars by Foz Meadows
Did not finish book. Stopped at 44%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 44%.
I have no beef with this book. It’s well-written and the premise is interesting. It’s just very heavy on politics and political intrigue. I expected some political stuff after reading the blurb, but not as much as I got, and I personally find that heavy politics are a bit boring for me (I’m not talking about the “politics” of race, gender, and sexuality, I’m talking about the politics of government/queens/vex, vex’mara, etc.). I definitely recommend the book to anyone who enjoys that though!
I received a review copy of this book from Angry Robot via Netgalley.
I received a review copy of this book from Angry Robot via Netgalley.