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literaryintersections's reviews
230 reviews
It Had to Be You by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I read this when I was a teen and was obsessed. I’m doing a reread of SEP books and decided to start here, knowing that there would be some tricky outdated things I’d have to get over. And WHEW are there. And yet……. I fucking loved it again.
There are so many issues (the rape is extremely graphic, the fatphobia (internalized and external), the misogyny and sexism a lot of it from the main love interest 🥴🥴, the random remarks about the Deep South (like the comment about the football players being lined up like plantation slaves to their owner who has just died……). I mean I know this was the 90s but WHEW. But there are also things where SEP and s ahead of her time: support of queer and gay people, mentioning people with AIDs as being left behind with the main character working with them, befriending, donating. Like they are her friends not people she pities. The idea that women are more than just pure/madonna or bimbos. The idea that Black young men who are athletic are taken for their abilities but their intellects are completely disregarded and not fostered. Now is there some white saviorism in here? Sure. But again, I think a lot of it is a product of the 90s.
I love Phoebe. I used to love Dan in a nostalgic way. But yall he is a mess and needs to grovel and change in order to be good enough for her. And the jump scare of him messing with a 16 year old (he’s not it’s kinky games with his ex wife) really got me this time 😂😂.
Overall I think this book needs to be looked at as a reflection of the mess and problems of the 90s, but also as a book that really started the sports romance genre. And also SEP really is one of the early starters of a super messed up man who is problematic and misogynistic but just needs the love of a good woman to change him. Like the alpha man stuff started with her.
There are so many issues (the rape is extremely graphic, the fatphobia (internalized and external), the misogyny and sexism a lot of it from the main love interest 🥴🥴, the random remarks about the Deep South (like the comment about the football players being lined up like plantation slaves to their owner who has just died……). I mean I know this was the 90s but WHEW. But there are also things where SEP and s ahead of her time: support of queer and gay people, mentioning people with AIDs as being left behind with the main character working with them, befriending, donating. Like they are her friends not people she pities. The idea that women are more than just pure/madonna or bimbos. The idea that Black young men who are athletic are taken for their abilities but their intellects are completely disregarded and not fostered. Now is there some white saviorism in here? Sure. But again, I think a lot of it is a product of the 90s.
I love Phoebe. I used to love Dan in a nostalgic way. But yall he is a mess and needs to grovel and change in order to be good enough for her. And the jump scare of him messing with a 16 year old (he’s not it’s kinky games with his ex wife) really got me this time 😂😂.
Overall I think this book needs to be looked at as a reflection of the mess and problems of the 90s, but also as a book that really started the sports romance genre. And also SEP really is one of the early starters of a super messed up man who is problematic and misogynistic but just needs the love of a good woman to change him. Like the alpha man stuff started with her.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Sexual harassment, and Misogyny
Moderate: Violence, Rape, and Homophobia
Minor: Racism
The Other Side of Disappearing by Kate Clayborn
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I can’t do a full review right now bbut cause I’m crying so hard omg this book.
I wasn’t super sold on the “lust at first sites” vibes but what I think it is is more about two people who are so hard shelled, grieving, lonely, finding an immediate understanding. Seeing each other. And that really becomes clear as the story goes on.
And this is a romance but it is also a story about sisters. And utterly broken and lonely people.
“I’m always going to have your heart, Jessie. Because you gave it to me so completely, and yours taught me how to make my own. But I think—I think I need to give yours back to you now. I think you need it, because I think it’s high time you get to share it with someone else.”
GOOD FUCKING LORD.
I wasn’t super sold on the “lust at first sites” vibes but what I think it is is more about two people who are so hard shelled, grieving, lonely, finding an immediate understanding. Seeing each other. And that really becomes clear as the story goes on.
And this is a romance but it is also a story about sisters. And utterly broken and lonely people.
“I’m always going to have your heart, Jessie. Because you gave it to me so completely, and yours taught me how to make my own. But I think—I think I need to give yours back to you now. I think you need it, because I think it’s high time you get to share it with someone else.”
GOOD FUCKING LORD.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment
Moderate: Death, Suicide, and Mental illness
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
emotional
funny
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Honestly this book is hard to date. I devoured it, never wanted to put it down, but the content, the sexual assaults, the white feminism, the pacing all made it really hard to LOVE it.
I knew there was SA within the first 15% but goodness I didn’t know it was going to be that graphic or horrible to read. There should be a huge CW and it was one of the reasons why I didn’t want to read this. The misogyny and sexism she faces is horrible, and although I’m sure it’s realistic it’s actually hard to read. I also think the cover and marketing made this seem like a romance but it 100% is not - the Romance is there but so minimal and actually really sad because there is partner death. The romance parts are great but it is not a romance by any means. What this book is is a portrait of grief. Just absolute sadness beyond belief.
I would be remiss if I didn’t say that I cried. Some of the parts when she was talking about tv importance of motherhood and what women do, never letting anyone tell you you can’t do something. Putting yourself first, giving yourself a moment. As a mom, that shit was my catnip and I loved it. But I do wish it was more intersectional cuz the one Rosa Parks comment, as if to say “Lizzie can’t be racist!!! She supports the civil rights movement” was lazy imo.
And then there’s 6:30. Which like a talking dog???? Idk. I loved him and also I was like wtf.
The last thing I’ll say is that u have seen some folks say that Elizabeth is autistic but that actually is never stated and idk if the author has said that. I think she read autistic but it doesn’t feel like a story about autism is that makes sense. I’m going to seek out perspectives from autistic reviewers.
I knew there was SA within the first 15% but goodness I didn’t know it was going to be that graphic or horrible to read. There should be a huge CW and it was one of the reasons why I didn’t want to read this. The misogyny and sexism she faces is horrible, and although I’m sure it’s realistic it’s actually hard to read. I also think the cover and marketing made this seem like a romance but it 100% is not - the Romance is there but so minimal and actually really sad because there is partner death. The romance parts are great but it is not a romance by any means. What this book is is a portrait of grief. Just absolute sadness beyond belief.
I would be remiss if I didn’t say that I cried. Some of the parts when she was talking about tv importance of motherhood and what women do, never letting anyone tell you you can’t do something. Putting yourself first, giving yourself a moment. As a mom, that shit was my catnip and I loved it. But I do wish it was more intersectional cuz the one Rosa Parks comment, as if to say “Lizzie can’t be racist!!! She supports the civil rights movement” was lazy imo.
And then there’s 6:30. Which like a talking dog???? Idk. I loved him and also I was like wtf.
The last thing I’ll say is that u have seen some folks say that Elizabeth is autistic but that actually is never stated and idk if the author has said that. I think she read autistic but it doesn’t feel like a story about autism is that makes sense. I’m going to seek out perspectives from autistic reviewers.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Grief, Death, Death of parent, and Sexism
Where Sleeping Girls Lie by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
I loved Ace of Spades and was so excited for this book - twisty and suspenseful boarding school story? I’m sold. I did enjoy a lot about this: the actual storyline, trying to figure out what was happening at the same time as Sade, the representation and thought, the setting. But the book is too slow and then wraps up too quickly. I don’t want to spoil anything so my review will be somewhat short. But, this book sheds like on the negative experiences of young girls at boarding school, and honestly in life. The plot is there and it’s enjoyable (albeit hard to read), it just takes too long to get to what is going on. And then the end was wrapped up like a bow - and I wanted more consequences (even if that isn’t realistic).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence, Death, Sexual assault, and Suicide
How to End a Love Story by Yulin Kuang
dark
emotional
funny
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? Yes
5.0
Hands down this is going to be my favorite romance of the year. I actually don't even know how to review it because it was so emotional to me. A romance where it feels like the conflict is insurmountable - how can two people, tied together by grief and the death of Helen's sister, overcome something so huge? I truly didn't know how Yulin was going to get us there but she did. It hurt a lot. But the ending is so worth it.
Yulin has tension throughout the book in a way that is literally heart pounding. Whether it's the tension of their hatred toward each other in the beginning, turning into the tension of will they/won't they (that couch scene alone with the fingers truly messed me up I was RIVETED), into the tension of how Helen would be able to have Grant and also not disappoint her parents. It felt like a thriller: just emotions on a rollercoaster, sweaty anxiety matched with sweaty swoony. Once Grant and Helen start to figure out their feelings, things seem smooth but they are anything but.
I loved Helen: stoic, scared but not able to show it. She felt like externally someone people would call emotionless but because we were in her head we knew she feels every little thing. "You feel a lost of responsibility for other people's feelings." WHEW. I mean Helen's feelings about her sister alone could be a whole book. She is DEEP and feels so deeply, but sometimes doesn't seem able to allow herself to. And Grant: grieving the accidental death he caused, unable to fully show people his true self, but only showing a mask. I don't think I've seen grief portrayed in this way, so differently, by two main characters. Just absolutely beautiful.
And the writing? Absolutely stunning. "She thinks perhaps this is the only angle from which to catch a glimpse of this version of Grant, slightly off to the side and looking up toward him." Idk why but lines like this just wrecked me. Or... "Grant shoots her a crooked, reassuring smile that seems to wedge right into a wobbling corner of her heart. Almost there, it seems to say." MY GOD. Or my favorite.... "she could still write an entire book of poems about all the ways she breaks her mother's heart in a day." I just.....
"She isn't sure why her heart feels like it's breaking when it hasn't been working properly in years anyway." Yulin, gosh wreck me why don't you. And. the letters she writes to her sister, about the kind of love that she wishes she had and wishes she deserved??? I am still a mess.
What more can I say?
Yulin has tension throughout the book in a way that is literally heart pounding. Whether it's the tension of their hatred toward each other in the beginning, turning into the tension of will they/won't they (that couch scene alone with the fingers truly messed me up I was RIVETED), into the tension of how Helen would be able to have Grant and also not disappoint her parents. It felt like a thriller: just emotions on a rollercoaster, sweaty anxiety matched with sweaty swoony. Once Grant and Helen start to figure out their feelings, things seem smooth but they are anything but.
I loved Helen: stoic, scared but not able to show it. She felt like externally someone people would call emotionless but because we were in her head we knew she feels every little thing. "You feel a lost of responsibility for other people's feelings." WHEW. I mean Helen's feelings about her sister alone could be a whole book. She is DEEP and feels so deeply, but sometimes doesn't seem able to allow herself to. And Grant: grieving the accidental death he caused, unable to fully show people his true self, but only showing a mask. I don't think I've seen grief portrayed in this way, so differently, by two main characters. Just absolutely beautiful.
And the writing? Absolutely stunning. "
What more can I say?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Death
Moderate: Car accident and Grief
At First Spite by Olivia Dade
emotional
sad
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? Yes
4.25
I really loved this book omg. I am in my sad girl era because this book hit the spot. Athena and her depression were so real. Matthew and his grief - goodness gracious I fell asleep crying one night.
I absolutely loved their beginning meeting and how they clicked. It gave credence to their entire relationship. And the tension that they both felt about falling in love???? The stuff great books are made from. I will say the slow burn was SLOW. Like 70% before they kiss is WILD.
My two issues:
- no way he is a virgin and can do all that stuff
- the third act breakup and him not fighting for her to his brother.
I absolutely loved their beginning meeting and how they clicked. It gave credence to their entire relationship. And the tension that they both felt about falling in love???? The stuff great books are made from. I will say the slow burn was SLOW. Like 70% before they kiss is WILD.
My two issues:
- no way he is a virgin and can do all that stuff
- the third act breakup and him not fighting for her to his brother.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness
Moderate: Child death
Expiration Dates by Rebecca Serle
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I don’t think Rebecca’s books are for me. Now that I know how twisty her books are all I do is try to figure out the twist from the first page, which takes away the surprise and tension.
I didn’t love Daphne in this. Or Hugo really either - also he plays a way bigger part than the blurb suggest. Jake is the best. But this book is also sad while not making me cry even close to her other books, I think because I felt so disconnected from the story. I wanted to love it and I read it in 2 days. But I’m so annoyed by it and especially by how it ended.
lastly, there is a strange mention about Israel which I still haven’t quite puzzled through. “We’ve always been reform but over the years my mother got more and more progressive and now their temple has thinks like namaSHVITZ yoga, head blessings, and curiously uniform feelings about Israel”
I didn’t love Daphne in this. Or Hugo really either - also he plays a way bigger part than the blurb suggest. Jake is the best. But this book is also sad while not making me cry even close to her other books, I think because I felt so disconnected from the story. I wanted to love it and I read it in 2 days. But I’m so annoyed by it and especially by how it ended.
lastly, there is a strange mention about Israel which I still haven’t quite puzzled through. “We’ve always been reform but over the years my mother got more and more progressive and now their temple has thinks like namaSHVITZ yoga, head blessings, and curiously uniform feelings about Israel”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical trauma
Moderate: Death
The Catch by Amy Lea
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Yeesh this was not my favorite. Primarily because the pacing is off so much and I don’t think we spend enough time with the two main characters getting to know each other. Their relationship isn’t believable and this would’ve been better achieved by a dual POV I think? Also Lea didn’t give us enough time with them as fake fiancés. Like it felt so short and rushed. And then you’ve got Evan being horribly rude for the first 45% and I’m supposed to be swooning over this guy and believe him when he says he’s been taken with her from the beginning???? Oof
I also just had a few not so great language issues: Melanie is supposed to be plus sized but says she “north of a size ten” which is still straight sized. The camping scene was so cringe and you can’t convince me she’d be in tip top sex shape within 2 days. Also the Ian kid was horribly creepy and idk why he was in so much of the book! Like talk about not understanding boundaries that’s horrifying.
*I started this review rating it at a 3 but keep going down and down lol*
Unfortunately this book just wasn’t for me.
I also just had a few not so great language issues: Melanie is supposed to be plus sized but says she “north of a size ten” which is still straight sized. The camping scene was so cringe and you can’t convince me she’d be in tip top sex shape within 2 days. Also the Ian kid was horribly creepy and idk why he was in so much of the book! Like talk about not understanding boundaries that’s horrifying.
*I started this review rating it at a 3 but keep going down and down lol*
Unfortunately this book just wasn’t for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment
Moderate: Death and Death of parent
Lore of the Wilds by Analeigh Sbrana
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
It hurts me so badly to not have loved this. I’ve been beyond excited to read this book but it really fell short.
What I liked:
- parts of the world and magic system
- Finn - y’all be prepared that it takes AGES for him to be introduced but he’s what saved this
- parts of the ending (but it was so rushed)
- the library scenes felt like a book readers dream
- the diversity, the fact that these were all Black fae (although I’m still unsure what constitutes a light fae vs dark fae)
What I didn’t like:
- parts of this felt like Mac and the Fever series but not as good - the whole grimoire stuff was too similar without the depth
- the romance is actually so cringe. It’s like a YA that tries to be NA. The sex scene actually made me uncomfortable and felt hemmed in there to give some “spice” and romantasy vibes for TikTok
- the pacing. Sometimes it’s so slow and sometimes, like the end, it’s unbelievably rushed. This needed another round of edits and a better editor.
I will read the second book because the cliffhanger was fun. But I’m a little disappointed.
What I liked:
- parts of the world and magic system
- Finn - y’all be prepared that it takes AGES for him to be introduced but he’s what saved this
- parts of the ending (but it was so rushed)
- the library scenes felt like a book readers dream
- the diversity, the fact that these were all Black fae (although I’m still unsure what constitutes a light fae vs dark fae)
What I didn’t like:
- parts of this felt like Mac and the Fever series but not as good - the whole grimoire stuff was too similar without the depth
- the romance is actually so cringe. It’s like a YA that tries to be NA. The sex scene actually made me uncomfortable and felt hemmed in there to give some “spice” and romantasy vibes for TikTok
- the pacing. Sometimes it’s so slow and sometimes, like the end, it’s unbelievably rushed. This needed another round of edits and a better editor.
I will read the second book because the cliffhanger was fun. But I’m a little disappointed.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual violence
Simply the Best by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Classic SEP. this feels like past SEP but without the problematic consent issues. I absolutely loved this book - it’s fun, funny, swoony, the tension builds and feels realistic. I was worried it would be: rich, strong man and messy inept woman but Rory really is so much stronger than you think (and her family thinks) at the outset.
I also liked the mystery of this and was surprised at who the killer was!
My one negative critique is that both characters talk about how they don’t want kids or marriage but that shifts really quickly by the end. I understand people’s ideas changing when they meet the right person BUT I do wish that SEP had them stay firm at least with their desire to not have children as it’s so rare in romance.
I also liked the mystery of this and was surprised at who the killer was!
My one negative critique is that both characters talk about how they don’t want kids or marriage but that shifts really quickly by the end. I understand people’s ideas changing when they meet the right person BUT I do wish that SEP had them stay firm at least with their desire to not have children as it’s so rare in romance.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder
Minor: Death of parent