Yes, it is the end of January. Yes, I still read a Christmas book.

This was at times pretty cringy but, in my opinion, a Christmas book kinda has to be.

Loved the demisexual and autism rep. Recognised myself a lot in the main character, which doesn’t often happen in romance books. There’s also Diabetes type 1 rep, which was really nice to see!

Something More by Jackie Khalilieh

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hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This is a fun and adorable #OwnVoices story about an autistic Palestinian teenager struggling to navigate the world of friend groups, secrets and crushes.

The main character, Jessie, is obsessed with all things 90s, including 90s movies. Even though it’s set in modern time, ‘Something More’ truly felt like one.

This also made me want to rewatch Buffy even though I just finished my 4th rewatch. #TeamSpike

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

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Plot- or character-driven? N/A
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

It does not feel right showing you this book without mentioning the Zionist comments of the author. I currently have to read and review this for a project that was set months before the boycott. Please know I do not agree with the author’s views and will point out my criticisms during said project. If you’re reading Fourth Wing, read it with a critical eye. I won’t be rating this book, however I do want to point out some of my criticisms.

Fourth Wing has quickly become a cult book; you can’t look past it on social media or bookshops. It’s famous for being fun, romantic and easy to read. But I do feel it’s important to look at books critically, even at books that don’t take themselves too seriously. This book was meant to be a cool, not too heavy, fantasy. Perfect for beginners in the genre. And it definitely succeeds in this. It was easy and read smoothly. However, because of this attempt to make the story approachable, the author misses a lot of depth in her characters and overall story itself.

I was excited to read a book with disability rep, but thought it was brushed over way too much. In an interview with HEALTH, Rebecca says Violet’s EDS isn’t explicitly named “because knowledge of it wouldn’t have fit with the level of medical advancement of the society in the book.” I understand this, but I would have liked for Violet to have mentioned more how this affects her daily life so it’s clear it’s an actual chronic illness. My friend, who loved this book, had no idea Violet was even disabled. It’s a shame, because this could have been some wonderful representation.

I often hear: “Let books just be fun!”, and yes, I agree. But they can’t be sloppy. Especially not when it comes to the representation of identities, disabilities and minority languages. Which leads me to my next point, if you don’t know, the names and words used in ‘Fourth Wing’ are words directly taken from the Scottish language Gaelic. In the 18th century, Gaelic was banned in schools for being a “barbaric language” and was even said to “damage the children’s mental health”. If they were caught speaking it, they were punished or even beaten. Luckily, the Scots still spoke the language at home and it was preserved to this day. In 2005, Gaelic became an official language again.

Knowing all this, you can see how important it is for this language to be protected and preserved. However, Rebecca doesn’t seem to know very much about Gaelic. In an interview she mispronounces every word and name. The audiobook includes multiple mistakes as well. If you want to use these words in a fantasy book, you can do a bit of research into their correct pronunciations. I myself didn’t know anything about Gaelic and did exactly 15 minutes of research to write this review. It’s not hard.

Would I have loved Fourth Wing if I had read it months ago? Maybe. But sadly the author’s actions have tainted my reading experience. If you loved Fourth Wing, don’t feel attacked by my review. I can see why you liked it. I do want you to keep all these things in mind when deciding to pick up the sequel, because just ignoring it wouldn’t be right.

Her Majesty's Royal Coven by Juno Dawson

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adventurous challenging dark emotional 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

This book!!! The beginning feels like ‘Sex and the City’ but add witches and diversity. The second half turns a lot darker and gory. This was fantastic, infuriating and a giant middle finger towards terfs, especially JKR.

I loved the setting and vibe, the older and younger characters and its message. It’s powerful, it’s angry and, above all, a wake up call for privileged white women who are refusing to look beyond their own hardships and acknowledge the even harder difficulties minorities have to face every single day.

AND THAT ENDING!

The Fiancée Farce by Alexandria Bellefleur

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slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

Not for me. DNF at 50%

Honey Girl by Morgan Rogers

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emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Rogers has a stunning talent of writing the most beautiful lines that I immediately wanted to cut out of the pages and hang on my wall to stare at all day.

However, that beautiful writing style was used during dialogues as well, which made them feel quite unnatural. So much so that at times, I felt like I was reading an old John Green book because of the overly poetic conversations about stars and monsters under the sea. Maybe I just don’t have great communication skills, but I just don’t talk to people like that in real life.

I read this as an audiobook, which I think just wasn’t a good way to read it. Information kept getting lost, beautiful lines went by too fast, and I couldn’t differentiate all the side characters and their individual struggles. Especially since it’s written in third person, it just a bit felt off.

That being said, the way Rogers addresses race and mental health was beautifully done. Grace’s obsession with being the best because of how the world has treated and is still treating Black, queer women was painful to read but honest.

I really think this book can be perfect for many many people. It sadly just wasn’t my cup of tea.

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loonieslibrary's reviews 151 reviews

loonieslibrary's reviews
151 reviews