monicalaurette's reviews
290 reviews

A Psalm of Storms and Silence by Roseanne A. Brown

adventurous dark emotional sad 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? It's complicated

4.5

There’s not much that I can say about this book without spoiling it since it’s a sequel (so if you haven’t read the first one WHAT are you doing here?)

“It’s not every day you get to embark on a new character arc.”

I thought one thing would happen to a character, and something else entirely different would occur which just goes to show how wonderful the writing is to have you also not notice what is happening along with the POVs. And I loved the new characters that we were introduced to in this book, mainly Ife. I wanted to travel the world with them because they kept me laughing even in the saddest parts.

Seeing how this was a sequel, certain relationships developed and others deteriorated during the course of the book. I was happy for some, and others hurt me to my core. Part of that is because I thought of my own similar relationships (sibling/child/friend) and thought about how emotional it would be for me. But thankfully (I guess) I am not from a line of royalty with a magic secret nor am I destined to fight someone like that.

"Every time she’d look for a savior and hadn’t found one, she’d become her own.”

I’m glad that we were able to explore more of the Sonande world in this book though. I've always loved it in books where they explore their world, even if it’s not the point of the particular book and the world building is mentioned in passing. It helps keep me connected while reading. Now I just need Rosanne to write a book of a traveler just going through all of Sonande, maybe Ife, and talking about all the beauty & magic of the world around them.

I gave this book 4.5 stars because it twas a wonderful story and a great way to end a curse. I just dislike open endings which this book sort of had, I want to have more of a solid ending, but that’s a personal thing and nothing against the book or author. If you’ve gone this far in my review and haven’t read either both books or just this one in the series please do now. You’re missing out on a wonderfully crafted & enrapturing story.

“This was still his mind. He was still the strongest person here.”

I honestly thought Nadia was going to get sacrificed for a minute there because of her like….stoic-ness

so like….would Malik have a right to the through with Khenu

I knew Farid’s lust for love (and power) would kill him in the end, and kill him his love did

that long run-on sentence/paragraph on pg 401-402 literally had my heart racing I love the way Malik’s anxiety is portrayed it’s just like

when Afua took over Maame’s role I wanted to cry because she deserved to see the end of it all and live life how she always wanted to :(

Content Warnings

The Girls Are Never Gone by Sarah Glenn Marsh

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

“Leave, Dare. She won’t save you either.”

This book is not one of my normal ones in a few ways. Yes, it’s YA & gay, but it’s also paranormal and ghost hunting, the first book of it’s kind to land on my ‘read’ shelf in my room. Besides it being YA & Gay (that’s a fun rhyme), I got this book because of the author. I love Sarah’s work so much that I knew that I had to try this one out. This book is even inspired by her ancestral home with it’s own haunting history (and an episode on Ghost Hunters!).

“I’ll reach out into the darkness, safe in knowing nothing ever reaches back.”

The Girls Are Never Gone follows Dare, a young teen with Type 1 Diabetes and a passion for uncovering the truth around ‘hauntings’. She doesn’t believe in ghosts and a month-long trip to a famously haunted house in Virginia is just another haunt, and a chance to show her own skills away from her past YouTube show. However, while at the famous Arrington estate, researching the death of one of it’s past residents, things start to change the way Dare has always thought the world around her to be.

I loved the different aspects of this book so much. The Type 1 rep was nice to see, it was something that was weaved in through the whole book and not just something mentioned at the beginning and forgotten about (like some other books, shows, and movies do with stuff like that). My family history falls more on Type 2, but I always grew up knowing about both and it was nice to see that as something that never hindered Dare, but instead helped her to remember that she was always strong. “Type 1 diabetics are like Girl Scouts….”

Then there’s the Bisexual rep that I obviously loved. While Dare being Bi wasn’t like a main plot point, it was nice to have it there. She was mainly exploring & navigating those feelings during this book after a recent break-up from her ex-boyfriend. And it was nice to have the different texts from Dare’s friends who just didn’t care that Dare was bi, just letting her know that they still cared about her and how much they loved her podcast so far.

Moments in this book, some of the twists and reveals I found myself figuring out along with the characters

like when they found out Hettie was killing her ‘sisters’ at the same age, I had picked up on that when they found Atheleen’s list and read the next chapter I felt so smart

. But then there were other moments that I just did NOT see coming at all. However, that made for the book to be enjoyable so I wasn’t guessing everything happening before it did; Sarah and the Arrington Estate kept me on my toes.

With all that said, I give The Girls Are Never Gone 5 stars. I wish there was more that I could learn about it all or even hear the podcast that Dare created while in the house. Either way, I highly recommend it to anyone who loves a good ghost story and unsuspecting twists.

I knew the second that Holly fell into the lake that it was going to want her, and then Quinn with the sleepwalking I was so torn on how it was going to end.

Atheleen being like a fellow ghost hunter/true crime lover was really cool and I think a way to help Dare realize that some ghosts are in fact real

ROSE AS GUSSIE I JUST DID NOT SEE COMING I AUDIBLY GASPED

I thought that at the end, Hettie/the lake did accept Rose both because she gave her ‘sister’ a hug and Rose was probably the same age as Hettie’s mom when she died so it was like her mother was healing her.

Okay but WHERE IS HOLLY? Part of me is like, oh she never left the estate and is now just hiding in the dilapidated building waiting for someone to find her/allow her to drown them in the lake next. I know that is crazy but she left the story so oddly and abruptly I just want her to be okay.

Content Warnings

Punching the Air by Ibi Zoboi, Yusef Salaam

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emotional informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

This book first caught my eye because of the beautiful colors on the cover and the imagery with the butterfly. So I picked it up and read the summary.

I personally love to watch documentaries about people being proven innocent and getting to go back into freedom, and I’ve seen ‘When They See Us’ that showcased the Exonerated Five (granted I saw it after purchasing this book but whatever). I wish there weren’t so many documentaries and shows that are about helping those wrongfully accused get free, but I like to see them get to hug their families and drive away from the prison that was their home for however long. I feel bad that I can’t do anything for them, since they are already out, and the most I can do for others wrongfully accused that are still locked up is just retweeting their story. But hopefully stories like this and the ones before it, and the world we are creating today, that that will be less common.

“....like everything that I am, that I’ve ever been counts as being guilty.”

So based on the above, and the summary you’ve probably already read, this story follows a young, black teen named Amal who is wrongfully accused of assaulting another teen (a white one from the rich(er) side of town). Written in gorgeous poetry (and in my opinion sometimes they were like lyrics), this follows Amal’s life from trial to into his time in juvenile detention. You watch as Amal works hard to not lose himself while staying alive. Ways that he does this is using art, both words and drawing.

I gave Punching the Air 5 stars because the flow of the words was beautiful and painted a heart-breaking and emotional story. I wish stories like this didn’t have to be something that is so common that while fictional, it’s based off Yusef’s own incarceration, but instead they were truly rooted in fiction.

“They call it free time and it's the biggest lie because we are still in here.”

I loved the comparison of the courtroom doors leading to the jail with the Door of No Return to America. It was powerful and I felt that for many, especially the younger ones that are in these situations, it has this same feeling.

I know I’ve wanted to punch the real life versions of Ms. Rinaldi in the different documentaries that I’ve seen and I wish that she was real so my anger could be put towards someone else. How dare she help him hone his art to get into a summer program and testify against him like that? (also like…I know why she did it too….starts with a ‘R’)

Wished we could have learned the outcome of Jeremy’s testimony and how it affected Amal’s sentence and if he’d stay in there because Amal’s future rested on that.

Content Warnings

Duskfall by Christopher Husberg

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 11%.

DNF’ed at 11%

This book I got from a friend before they moved and they didn’t want it. I thought the cover was interesting so I read the summary, which intrigued me a slight amount but not 100%, so I thought ‘oh I’ll give it a chance!’ Part of me wishes that I didn’t.

From the very beginning, I hated the line that the father didn’t care how old his daughter was; she had no place on a fishing boat, and I just hate the notion that no matter what, women don’t belong in adventure. And if you’re thinking “oh well this book must be older before people really started thinking that way” this book was published in 2016 so like….there were so many other great heroines and women adventurers at that time.

I just felt off about the tiellan/human like….conflict because I felt it was a half-assed attempt at making a commentary about real world racism and how it’s still around today and the effects because the tiellans were also enslaved but in the years before the book started.

I read this book for a little bit one day before going to work, and didn’t think about it at all until I was home and it felt like a chore to read it, so I just decided to stop it basically at the beginning. Most likely will not pick up this book again in the future.

Also, the character of Lian with the way he interacted with Winter made me think of Gale from THG and I didn’t like him so that didn’t help.

Content Warnings

Sky Without Stars by Jessica Brody, Joanne Rendell

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 31%.

DNF’ed at 31%

So I picked up this book because I wanted to get more sci-fi books on my shelf, and it was said to be a re-telling of Les Miserables, which I loved (well the movie at least I’ve never read the book because it’s so long but whatever).

I started the book after a small reading slump and it just did not help to solve it. I never really thought about going home to read the book and the characters didn’t pull me enough to want to read it out of enjoyment.

I could tell from the moment they were introduced which character was who from Les Mis, which I assume was intentional, but I almost wish that the names were all different because Marcellous was still really close. I also didn’t like the whole ‘Chatine doesn’t like to be seen as a girl’ because the whole time I was like ‘does that mean she’s trans but it never really went that route so (to my cis-gender opinion) I felt that it wasn’t very well written and a weird way to go about the Eponine character.

The world/planet of LaTerre was also very confusing to me and even though it was supposed to be a sci-fi version of France, the random usage of French words mixed in with the English was jarring to me in a way that I didn’t expect it to be as a French major. I know that that type of stuff happens but I just….didn’t like it, at least in this book. However, I did love the detailed maps and diagrams in the beginning of the book. I just wished it helped me understand the world they were in.

As a DNF rating, I will give it 2 stars, because the premise was there and I really wanted to like it, but I just couldn’t get myself to go further. I think I’ll keep this book and attempt to read it again later. Maybe after attempting to read Les Mis or watching it again because I love Anne Hathaway.

I added the deadnaming spoiler as a minor CW because I don't know how the Theo/Chatine thing was supposed to go but if someone let's me know that that is not the right thing to put I'll change it/remove it.

I think that the governesses were framed. I made it that far and believe that perhaps both the governesses were framed for their ‘crimes’ against the Ministre’ to take away the blame from someone else to avoid detection but I can’t be sure because I stopped.

Content Warnings

The Black Mage by Daniel Barnes, DJ Kirkland

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective fast-paced

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

5.0

I don’t know why when I started this book that I thought it was going to be a great snowy day read, because I finished it in like an hour. It was that good. I first heard about this graphic novel when I followed the artist on Tik Tok and they talked about it. Then I went only to learn more about it, really liked the story, and bought it. Now granted, I have had the book on my TBR pile for a while but I knew it would be a great book to read and boost up my numbers just a little bit more.

The way that this book was both a captivating story and a call-out for the way that people of color are treated (all the stereotype questions asked of Tom when he first arrives and the way the white characters talk about him) even today. I felt it was an great take to kind of show that even though the civil war ended years ago, slavery ended years ago, there are still those terrible feelings and ideologies out there today. I’m just glad Lindsay turned around because I liked her from like the first chapter.

I gave The Black Mage 5 stars because it was such a quick and reflective read for me (as a white woman). I loved the characters that Daniel and D.J. brought to life in these pages. *Thor voice* ANOTHER! (please I want to know what Tom and Jim do in the future, and also Lindsay; make them fight more racists).

When I realized the meaning of Tom ‘Token’ and the crow named ‘Jim’ I just about screamed because like it was subtle but also not at the same time.

Content Warnings

Animal Shelter Portraits by Mark Ross

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emotional inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

4.0

I picked up this book at a library sale because I knew that it would be sad to read. I found myself wanting to jump into basically every photo to hug the animals in the photos and take some of them home.

I did also like that it wasn't just dogs and cats that you saw, but other animals. But on the other hand it's sad that any of the animals were in a shelter to begin with. The world of 'kill' shelters is a very political and messy one and I wish that more could be done for the shelters to better aid them with taking care of the animals (or somehow making a world where less animals have to be brought to them.

The comments and letters at the end from volunteers and a shelter manager where very insightful to read and really gives someone a moment to reflect on their thoughts towards the shelters and the animals there.

I gave this books 4 stars out of 5. I wish that there were some good stories thrown in there more like Brian the cat (which the owner adopted) to show the good side of shelters but I understand as well that that wasn't the point of the book.

Content Warnings

The Vampire's Doll by Jaclyn Dolamore

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adventurous mysterious fast-paced

3.0

So, I will honestly say that this book should have been one that I DNF’ed. There were grammatical errors and the world building was just confusing and I still don’t understand it after finishing the book. I think it was so distracting to me because it was a world that wasn’t the Earth (mainly America), but it was trying to be.

Honestly the reason that I rated it the way I did and kept going until the end was for the vampire character Dennis. I wanted to see how things went with him and Parsons, so like their relationship was all I cared about, but I felt that it didn’t give me as much enemy-to-lover or like pining romance that I wanted either.

Also randomly the author mentioned they were being attacked by dragons and then NEVER MENTIONED IT AGAIN. Like you can’t do that to me.

I gave this book 3 out of five stars because I liked the vampire character, thought the idea was there, and the theater rooftop scene (don’t ask me about it okay?).

Content Warnings

Pax, Journey Home by Sara Pennypacker

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emotional inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

Book is out in September 7th 2021

When I heard that this book was a thing I was so excited, I had only read the first one ‘Pax’ earlier this same year and loved it. I saw that it wasn’t released yet and that there was a giveaway on Goodreads for an ARC version of the book, and knowing that I don’t win a lot of them, I entered.

Flash forward a month later and I got a wonderful email letting me know that this time was different and I would be getting an ARC copy! I was so excited and grew even more so when it showed up on my door. I was able to read this in one day (if you remove the times in between reading that I had to take for work and eating and spending time with family).

This book was a really wonderful closing to the ending of ‘Pax’. It answered some questions on what happened with both Pax and Peter after they said their goodbyes.

From the cover, you can infer that Pax and Bristle had some kits, and I wish that my ARC had the art in it so I could see how cute they looked, but alas I’ll have to get a final copy once it’s released into the wild. But even without the art in the book I really liked this story and how it connected the stories again in the end.

Seeing the way that Peter and Pax looked differently at their families, both related by blood and love, was a really fun way and an insight on ways to deal with grief and guilt. Also how to deal with those who have passed, and how we go about our lives afterwards because of them and the way that they raised us/inspired us.

I gave Pax: Journey Home 5 stars because I just loved it so much and it was nice for me to have an ending like that.

*No quotes in this as the ARC may be slightly different from the final text sold in stores. Will add quotes once I can compare them to the final text and see if they are the same or changed slightly.

I loved how Jade and Sam played their part in this story for Peter. Trying to get him to accept that he has a very different family now. He has no parents, but he has a grandfather that’s starting to be more emotional and Vola who cares for him as if he was her own.

Meanwhile Pax has his own children but knows that his boy is the only thing that can save his daughter.

LET ME TELL YOU I THOUGHT PETER WAS GOING TO SHOOT HER I WAS ABOUT TO THROW THE BOOK LIKE HOW HOW HOW!

I loved that Peter named the kit Sliver, because she was the ‘sliver or crack in his exterior that let the emotions in’ like Jade said.

Content Warnings

Le Petit Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

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emotional lighthearted reflective fast-paced

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

3.5

C'est le premier livre en français j'ai lu après l'université. Un livre et une histoire très connue dans beaucoup de maisons.

L'histoire de "Le petit prince", pour moi, est une histoire à propos de 'trouver l'enfant à l'intérieur'. De plus, le monde et la vie ne sont pas toujours sérieuses. Une personne autorisée être heureuse et agir comme un enfant en tant qu'un adulte.

"Les grandes personnes sont bien étranges."

J'ai donné 'Le petit prince' 3 étoiles et demie. C'est une bonne histoire avec une morale très réfléchie. Et, je voudrais en apprendre plus sur l'auteur et sa disparition.

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monicalaurette's reviews 290 reviews

monicalaurette's reviews
290 reviews