looseleafellie's reviews
249 reviews

Best I Never Had by Jeannie Choe

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emotional hopeful lighthearted slow-paced
Natalia Marquez is feeling empty after her fiancé breaks up with her and immediately gets engaged to another woman. But when her old high school friend Hayden Marshall (who’s secretly been in love with her forever) comes to town, it rekindles her hope for the future. But do they dare risk their second chance at friendship for something more?

I became desperate to read this book when I discovered it was a slow burn friends-to-lovers romance, which I am a SUCKER for! I think the first half of the book was kind of slow, with tension bubbling under the surface but without much payoff until the second half kicked into gear. However, it felt like Hayden and Natalia’s romance progressed naturally, and the way they support each other and enjoy each other’s company was so wholesome! No instalove here (and y’all know I HATE instalove).

Something that tended to pull me out of the narrative was over-descriptions of actions — that is, some scenes had every movement the characters make described in great detail, which made it read a little clunky sometimes. I think readers who are especially visual might appreciate this, however.

Finally, a disjointed list of things I lapped up in this book and that you might like too: mutual pining, angry love confessions, jealousy, cooking as a love language, bookish protagonists, nasty dudes getting punched in the face, dirty talk, slow dancing, and Shawn, who was not an endgame love interest but I’ll date him if nobody else will :)

Also … Chapter 40!!! Enough said 😏

Thanks to the author for the ebook ARC!

CWs: loss of a parent, sexual assault (non-graphic), underage drinking, mention of drug use.

Spice level: Graphic

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Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

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fast-paced
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
This was a fun spring break read for me -- I whizzed through it in a matter of hours. I love stories about musicians, and it was super fun to read about all the ambition, mess, and drama that this fictional band had to navigate.

All of the characters felt realistically flawed, though some were certainly more likable than others. Daisy Jones in particular really started getting on my nerves, but I liked how she learned her lesson by the end. On the other end of the spectrum, Camila was literally perfect. Fabulous, no notes. And Billy ... well, I did want to reach into the book and slap some sense into him sometimes, but I appreciate his strength of character after he pulled himself out of his deepest hole.

I also appreciated the song lyrics at the end of the book -- it made the world seem more real. Of course, they changed all the lyrics for the show adaptation, but that's to be expected since Taylor Jenkins Reid presumably isn't a professional songwriter.

I'm currently watching the show adaptation, and so far I definitely prefer the book, but that's nothing new. It's still cool to see parts of a story I enjoyed come to life.

CWs: Abortion, alcohol abuse, anxiety, infidelity, depression, drug use/abuse, eating disorder, pregnancy, self-harm.

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Made of Stars by Jenna Voris

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adventurous emotional fast-paced

5.0

Made of Stars follows outlaws Shane and Ava as they embark on a daring prison break and plan a new heist. But when they stumble upon a conspiracy to take over their home planet, they must use their outlaw skills to take down an oppressive government.

This was a rollercoaster of action and thrills! I came for the Bonnie and Clyde in space concept, but I stayed for the sci-fi politics. While Shane and Ava were fun to read about, my heart was stolen by Cyrus, the imperial soldier who realizes that he may need to turn against the empire that gave him everything.

Also … THAT ending! I mean, I never saw it coming in a million years, and it broke me but also made so much sense for the story. I also liked how things weren’t wrapped up in a neat little bow — taking down an evil empire takes time, after all. But there’s a spark of hope, and that’s what matters. I don’t know if a sequel is planned, but if there is, I’m SO ready!

CWs: Blood, violence, gore, descriptions of blood/bodies, murder (including mass murder), torture, war themes, weapon use/gun-violence, PTSD and flashbacks, and grief over deceased friends.

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XOXO by Axie Oh

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lighthearted fast-paced

5.0

This book follows cello player Jenny, who meets K-Pop star Jaewoo in her home city of Los Angeles and spends a wonderful day with him before he’s whisked away never to be seen again. But when she heads to Seoul to visit her sick grandmother, she finds that Jaewoo and his band are now her classmates at her new elite arts academy! Jaewoo’s management company forbids him from dating, but with their romance blossoming, will love find a way?

This was an adorable rom-com that made me feel sixteen again! The writing is also very smooth and the chapters simply flew by.

Amid the challenges and drama the characters face, friendship and romance shine through. While I love a celebrity romance — and Jaewoo and Jenny were certainly very cute — I also loved how Jenny became friends with the initially-frosty Sori. I really felt how hard it was going to be for Jenny to return to the US after having such a great time with her new classmates in Seoul.

I know nothing about the K-Pop industry, and don’t listen to K-Pop much, but the story made me feel the hype nonetheless! The conflicts between the stars and the management companies were super interesting and made me kind of angry for the poor kids. I don’t know how accurate it was to real life, but I felt super invested in the characters’ quest for fame and the risks they had to take to navigate the system.

Overall, if you’re looking for a light fun romance with a decent dose of angst, this one is for you! Just pack a snack because the descriptions of Korean food made me HUNGRY.

CWs: cancer, bullying, dieting mention.

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Our Wives Under The Sea by Julia Armfield

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mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

5.0

When marine biologist Leah comes home after being lost on a submarine research mission for six months, her wife Miri wonders what happened to her. But as Leah starts acting stranger and stranger, Miri wonders whether Leah is really back to stay at all.

This was a pretty short book with super lyrical prose that meant I could savor every word without it taking me forever to get through. I’m learning that I love short books with beautiful writing! I also love science, so the scientific facts about the ocean sprinkled through were super fun to read.

The mystery of what’s going to happen to Leah kept me waiting for answers, but it was never fully explained by the end — and surprisingly, I didn’t really mind. The point wasn’t why or how; the point was the what. I’m still mulling over the themes of love, loss, and the untameable power of nature, and I think I’ll be mulling for a long time.

Overall, if you’re looking for something creepy, speculative, romantic, and bittersweet — especially as a short book you can read in a day or a weekend — I highly recommend this one!

Spice level: Non-graphic.

CWs: Grief, body horror, death of a parent, dementia, suicide, mentions of homophobia.

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A Lesson in Vengeance by Victoria Lee

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced
When Felicity returns to her elite all-girls boarding school for her senior year, she’s eager to put her past of death and witchcraft behind her. But when she meets prodigy novelist Ellis, who needs her help with research for her new book, Felicity finds that her ghosts may be coming back to haunt her …

This book has been on my TBR for a while, but a friend of mine read it recently and then forced her copy into my hands the second she was done with it. So of course, I had to see what entranced her so much!

Five words: queer dark academia with murder! The vibes of this book are absolutely impeccable, and while the story unfolds slowly, the creeping tension really makes it work. Schemes rumble beneath the surface, the protagonist isn’t always the most reliable narrator, and the ending is absolutely WILD.

The characters are extremely pretentious in a way that felt, to me, quite tongue-in-cheek, so luckily I was able to enjoy their exploits without getting annoyed. A fun tidbit about this book is that there are no men mentioned anywhere in the story. All the characters are female or non-binary, and none of the plentiful literary references come from male authors.

Basically, don’t go in expecting a fast-paced thriller, but do expect an eerie slow-burn of a narrative that will keep you on your toes. This is definitely the kind of book you should read at night by the fire with a cup of tea and a storm raging outside. Just keep an eye out for any ghosts that might be lurking in your corners …

CWs: Death, violence, manipulation and emotional abuse, child neglect (past/offscreen), mental health issues, substance abuse, suicide references (no actual suicide), references to racist history at a PWI.

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Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao

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adventurous emotional tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

In a world where girls are selected as concubine-pilots to power up giant mechas — and often die in the process — Zetian is determined to murder the male pilot who killed her sister. But when she proves to be an exceptionally powerful pilot herself, she must use her new position to investigate why the pilot system destroys so many girls … before her many enemies catch up to her.

People have been telling me I’ll love this book for a while, and in practice, they were totally right! I loved the rollercoaster of a plot (the short chapters helped). I wished a few parts, like the training sequences, were a little more fleshed out, but overall I thought the structure was great.

Zetian is an unhinged powerhouse of a protagonist whose motivations are always spot-on, even if they lead to her doing terrible things. I loved how the romance between her, Shimin, and Yizhi bloomed. They brought out the best in each other, both in battle and in general!

Amid all the flashy robot battles, it’s no secret that this book is about sexism. It delves into what it means to participate in an oppressive system, how much agency people really have to change things, and who should really shoulder the blame. I especially loved how the book explored how women often contribute to misogynistic systems without blaming those women for their own oppression.

The ending of the book — especially the epilogue — absolutely shook me to my core and left me dying for the sequel. Good thing it’s coming this year!

CWs: Violence, blood, abuse, murder, suicide ideation, alcohol addiction, torture, racism, misogyny, and reference to sexual assault.

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Never Ever Getting Back Together by Sophie Gonzales

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emotional hopeful fast-paced
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Never Ever Getting Back Together follows Maya, who gets invited onto a second chance romance show with her celebrity ex who cheated on her and lied about it to make her look obsessive. Maya is determined to expose him on live TV, but that means being around Skye, the girl he cheated with. As Maya and Skye work out how their ex played them both, they team up to bring him down, and end up finding new love with each other!

I loved Sophie Gonzales’s previous book Perfect on Paper, but this one was a whole new level. The pacing had me flying through the pages desperate to see what came next! Maya and Skye made such a cute couple, and it was lovely to see how they balance each other out despite being very different people.

The book deals heavily with misogyny and girl-on-girl hate, and I love how it unpacks the harmful way reality shows — and society at large — often pit women against each other. The female characters don’t behave perfectly by any means, and even Maya and Skye engage in toxic behaviors, but the book makes it very clear that it’s a product of internalized sexism, and that was very refreshing to see.

The ending somehow manages to balance a message of not letting revenge consume you AND the evil ex getting his just deserts, and I was so here for it! I came away feeling extremely happy and satisfied.

Thanks to Wednesday Books for the ebook ARC!

CWs: misogyny, cheating, gaslighting/emotional abuse, panic attack, brief biphobia.

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Aces Wild: A Heist by Amanda DeWitt

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When Jack Shannon’s casino-owner mom gets put in prison, Jack vows vengeance on Peter Carlevaro, the rival casino owner who ratted her out. Helped by the friends he met on an online asexual support group, Jack must find Carlevaro’s secrets and take him down.

This book was pitched as “modern asexual Kaz Brekker runs a Las Vegas heist,” and that’s a tough comp to live up to. It’s arguable whether the book actually contains a heist, but there was some fun espionage and gambling shenanigans. It annoyed me that much of the plot was made possible by one character being almost magically good at hacking, but that didn’t ruin the story for me.

Aces Wild has a focus on family and friendship, which was lovely to see! Jack and his friends disagree and make mistakes, but care deeply for each other. Jack also gains a newfound love for his complicated family. And there’s a cute subplot of Jack having a crush on his friend Remy, and having to navigate what that means as an asexual person.

I think it does Jack a disservice to describe him as Kaz Brekker — he has a very different past to Kaz, and more of a moral compass and empathy. I liked his arc, though. If you want to see an analytical, introverted kid struggling with his emotions realistically, this book is great! If you want a ruthless criminal who cares only about profit and one (1) stabby Wraith, that’s not what you’ll get here.

If a YA Ocean’s Eleven with an all-asexual heist crew sounds cool to you, you might want to check out Aces Wild!

In closing, a quote I loved: “Sexuality can be fluid, or at the very least a journey, not to mention personal. If someone said they were ace or gay or whatever, you believed them. Assuming that you were straight until you ‘know for sure’ only implied that it was better to be straight until you had no other choice.”

Thanks to Peachtree Teen for the e-ARC!

CWs: Abandonment, blood, acephobia mention.

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Seven Days in June by Tia Williams

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emotional hopeful inspiring fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Over a decade after a whirlwind teenage romance, Eva Mercy and Shane Hall are both bestselling authors. Despite their attempts to forget each other, they’ve been writing each other into their books for years. So when fate reunites them at a book conference, Shane and Eva must discover whether their love can still work, or whether they’ll have to leave each other forever.

This book was a charming, funny, and poignant delight! Eva and Shane are wonderfully witty protagonists who click amazingly well. I also loved Eva’s precocious daughter, Audre, and her clever observations.

The point of view mostly sticks to Eva and Shane, but there are a few scenes with other characters’ perspectives sprinkled in. I tend to find this a bit jarring, but here I didn’t mind so much because the side characters are so interesting.

Aside from being a cute romance, Seven Days in June weaves topics like chronic illness, mental health, family trauma, racism in publishing, and addiction into the story in a way that feels natural and nuanced. Despite the challenges they’ve faced, Eva and Shane find solace in each other and their loved ones, and it’s a wonderful exploration of how community and being true to yourself helps you flourish.

The epilogue felt a bit drawn-out to me, but I don’t know how else it could have been arranged without cutting out some necessary character development for Eva. In any case, by the time the story wrapped up, I was left feeling ridiculously happy for the characters!

Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone who wants a brilliant joyful romance that doesn’t shy away from heavy topics.

Spice level: Graphic

CWs: Drug abuse/overdose, alcoholism, child abuse/neglect, suicide attempt, chronic illness, self harm, implied pedophilia, racism, depression, violence, gun death of a child, sexual assault mention, grief.

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