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pleasereadfaster's Reviews (389)
"Are you complimenting me? Because if you are you're doing a really bad job at it."
TLDR: This book is incredible. You will get angry, sad, and laugh all within the same page.
Wow, what a ride. This book was so intense. Lots and lots of emotions. TJ Klune has done a fabulous job yet again of utilizing this really unique writing style highly effectively. I listened to this one rather than read it. I was worried that the stylized writing would be hard to listen to. I was wrong. Kirt Graves does an incredible job of narrating this audiobook. I will say the beginning might be hard for a novice audiobook listener. The beginning of the book moves back and forth between Gordo's childhood and the current time. I loved it and thought it was beautiful. Really well executed. But again for somebody who doesn't normally listen to audiobooks it could potentially be hard to follow in that media.
I could go on and on about how beautiful and heart-wrenching this story was but I won't. Just read it. That's all that needs to be said. Just read it.
Fair warning this is a slow burn. And while the romantic relationship is an important factor in this book, it is by no means the majority of the plot. Lots going on here.
Rating: I will be re-reading this book.
TLDR: This book is incredible. You will get angry, sad, and laugh all within the same page.
Wow, what a ride. This book was so intense. Lots and lots of emotions. TJ Klune has done a fabulous job yet again of utilizing this really unique writing style highly effectively. I listened to this one rather than read it. I was worried that the stylized writing would be hard to listen to. I was wrong. Kirt Graves does an incredible job of narrating this audiobook. I will say the beginning might be hard for a novice audiobook listener. The beginning of the book moves back and forth between Gordo's childhood and the current time. I loved it and thought it was beautiful. Really well executed. But again for somebody who doesn't normally listen to audiobooks it could potentially be hard to follow in that media.
I could go on and on about how beautiful and heart-wrenching this story was but I won't. Just read it. That's all that needs to be said. Just read it.
Fair warning this is a slow burn. And while the romantic relationship is an important factor in this book, it is by no means the majority of the plot. Lots going on here.
Rating: I will be re-reading this book.
"You're Nick and Charlie. You're gonna be fine."
Rating: I enjoyed this book but I probably won't reread it.
TLDR: This book focuses on a teen couple making decisions about sex.
I don't normally read graphic novels or YA. Despite this I have read the entire Heartstopper series and enjoyed them. The previous volumes have addressed bullying, abusive relationships, sexual discovery, and eating disorders. This volume doesn't focus on those topics specifically but the characters are still dealing with theses things to an extent. This volume mainly focuses on university decisions and sexual experiences. This is exactly why I don't usually read YA. I would prefer that teenagers don't have sex. I also understand that is unrealistic and 16 year olds look like babies to me because I am old now. I still don't want to read about them having sex. I also prefer that books represent sex realistically. Annal sex requires preparation that it would be inappropriate to cover in a YA novel but the sheet over them and they "just did it" also feels a bit misleading. Regardless of my hang ups about sexual activity in YA novels, this is a sweet story that I would not have qualms with my son reading. I might talk to him about it after but he could absolutely read it.
Rating: I enjoyed this book but I probably won't reread it.
TLDR: This book focuses on a teen couple making decisions about sex.
I don't normally read graphic novels or YA. Despite this I have read the entire Heartstopper series and enjoyed them. The previous volumes have addressed bullying, abusive relationships, sexual discovery, and eating disorders. This volume doesn't focus on those topics specifically but the characters are still dealing with theses things to an extent. This volume mainly focuses on university decisions and sexual experiences. This is exactly why I don't usually read YA. I would prefer that teenagers don't have sex. I also understand that is unrealistic and 16 year olds look like babies to me because I am old now. I still don't want to read about them having sex. I also prefer that books represent sex realistically. Annal sex requires preparation that it would be inappropriate to cover in a YA novel but the sheet over them and they "just did it" also feels a bit misleading. Regardless of my hang ups about sexual activity in YA novels, this is a sweet story that I would not have qualms with my son reading. I might talk to him about it after but he could absolutely read it.
"Maybe the reality wasn't as dramatic as sports media liked to pretend, but archnemesis was only an exaggeration because neither of them had superpowers."
TLDR: This book has the best love declaration line ever written. It would be the obvious pick for the teaser quote but I don't want to spoil it for you.
Obviously, this book is a rivals to lovers hockey romance. It once again has the grumpy/sunshine dynamic and it is so well done in this book. This book may be the best of the series. I love the way the story unfolds. How they get together in the beginning is hilarious. The development of that relationship is subtle and sweet. This book has the best love declaration line ever written. It would be the obvious pick for the teaser quote but I don't want to spoil it for you. We also get a bit of a view of them actually working through their relationship's issues. Personally, I love that. I love to see a relationship have struggles that are worked through as a team. Per usual with this series there are some heavy topics but for the most part everything is handled with levity, humor, and joy. The spice level is kicked up a notch in this book compared to the first two. Overall, if you like the first two books you'll love this. If you're jumping straight to the enemies to lovers book, I don't think you'll be disappointed.
Rating: I will re-read this book. (I already have.)
TLDR: This book has the best love declaration line ever written. It would be the obvious pick for the teaser quote but I don't want to spoil it for you.
Obviously, this book is a rivals to lovers hockey romance. It once again has the grumpy/sunshine dynamic and it is so well done in this book. This book may be the best of the series. I love the way the story unfolds. How they get together in the beginning is hilarious. The development of that relationship is subtle and sweet. This book has the best love declaration line ever written. It would be the obvious pick for the teaser quote but I don't want to spoil it for you. We also get a bit of a view of them actually working through their relationship's issues. Personally, I love that. I love to see a relationship have struggles that are worked through as a team. Per usual with this series there are some heavy topics but for the most part everything is handled with levity, humor, and joy. The spice level is kicked up a notch in this book compared to the first two. Overall, if you like the first two books you'll love this. If you're jumping straight to the enemies to lovers book, I don't think you'll be disappointed.
Rating: I will re-read this book. (I already have.)
TLDR: You want to smile, chuckle, and overall feel kinship in daily struggles? Look no further than this book.
I chuckled at the contents page. And that, right there, sets the tone for the whole book. This book is poignant yet funny. It addresses serious topics but makes you smile. This is a really enjoyable read. It's something that I would want to remember to reach for when I need an easy laugh at life. I, of course, wouldn't remember. I need this to be like a yearly planner where every comic is one week. I won't say that every comic will resonate with you but there is a lot of highly relatable moments (i.e. the first pancake, y'all know what I'm talking about). This is absolutely something that I will get as a gift for some people in my life. It's worth the smile. And it's worth knowing that other people feel the same way you do. You are not alone.
Also so many of these comics could be made into shirts and I would buy them.
I chuckled at the contents page. And that, right there, sets the tone for the whole book. This book is poignant yet funny. It addresses serious topics but makes you smile. This is a really enjoyable read. It's something that I would want to remember to reach for when I need an easy laugh at life. I, of course, wouldn't remember. I need this to be like a yearly planner where every comic is one week. I won't say that every comic will resonate with you but there is a lot of highly relatable moments (i.e. the first pancake, y'all know what I'm talking about). This is absolutely something that I will get as a gift for some people in my life. It's worth the smile. And it's worth knowing that other people feel the same way you do. You are not alone.
Also so many of these comics could be made into shirts and I would buy them.
"We talked about this. You can't just drug people even if it is technically helpful."
TLDR: This one is better than Cruel Seduction.
If you are losing steam on this series, I think this one is a bit better. There is a little more contribution to the overall plot. That being said I won't pretend that it is the main driver of the story. I think a big part of the reason that I prefer this book to Cruel Seduction is that our characters have history before they enter into their polyamorous relationship. So there's less instalove which is just better for me. I like relationships to have some sort of foundation. Our FMC has history with both MMCs. We get instalove in the relationship between the two MMCs. They have no foundation and yet by the end they're falling for each other (it's been maybe 3 days). Despite this I overall enjoyed the read. It felt less like her Wicked Villains series than Cruel Seduction did. There was definitely more plot here. That being said there's still a lot of sex as well. This one is a friends to lovers and second chance romance. Which also might be part of the reason I enjoyed it more. The previous book was an enemies to lovers which I just don't like as much, even if it does make me chuckle.
Rating: I enjoyed this book but I probably won't re-read it.
TLDR: This one is better than Cruel Seduction.
If you are losing steam on this series, I think this one is a bit better. There is a little more contribution to the overall plot. That being said I won't pretend that it is the main driver of the story. I think a big part of the reason that I prefer this book to Cruel Seduction is that our characters have history before they enter into their polyamorous relationship. So there's less instalove which is just better for me. I like relationships to have some sort of foundation. Our FMC has history with both MMCs. We get instalove in the relationship between the two MMCs. They have no foundation and yet by the end they're falling for each other (it's been maybe 3 days). Despite this I overall enjoyed the read. It felt less like her Wicked Villains series than Cruel Seduction did. There was definitely more plot here. That being said there's still a lot of sex as well. This one is a friends to lovers and second chance romance. Which also might be part of the reason I enjoyed it more. The previous book was an enemies to lovers which I just don't like as much, even if it does make me chuckle.
Rating: I enjoyed this book but I probably won't re-read it.
"Better hate than never. For never too late."
TLDR: I like Chloe Liese but this one wasn't for me.
This book just didn't work for me. I felt that the FMC was unlikable. She is very defensive, judgmental, antagonistic, and close-minded. She makes assumptions about people and doesn't make an effort to see things from their perspective or let them explain. I just found her super frustrating. I wanted to yell at her to shut up and just listen. I will say that she gets better as the book goes on and learns to open up. She also gives people a chance to speak and not assume the worst. But it took a long time to get there. The relationship also hit a bit of an ick factor for me. I have read many taboo romances with step sibling relationships and those never bothered me because they didn't grow up together (not any of the ones I read anyway). These two are not step siblings but they grew up together. They go from fantasizing about each other in a carnal way to remembering childhood events and back again. I did not like that.
P.S. It wasn't until 88% of the way through this book that the main couple realized establishing a safe word would help them relax a little and not have to check in constantly. Normalize safe words people!
Rating: This one wasn't for me.
TLDR: I like Chloe Liese but this one wasn't for me.
This book just didn't work for me. I felt that the FMC was unlikable. She is very defensive, judgmental, antagonistic, and close-minded. She makes assumptions about people and doesn't make an effort to see things from their perspective or let them explain. I just found her super frustrating. I wanted to yell at her to shut up and just listen. I will say that she gets better as the book goes on and learns to open up. She also gives people a chance to speak and not assume the worst. But it took a long time to get there. The relationship also hit a bit of an ick factor for me. I have read many taboo romances with step sibling relationships and those never bothered me because they didn't grow up together (not any of the ones I read anyway). These two are not step siblings but they grew up together. They go from fantasizing about each other in a carnal way to remembering childhood events and back again. I did not like that.
P.S. It wasn't until 88% of the way through this book that the main couple realized establishing a safe word would help them relax a little and not have to check in constantly. Normalize safe words people!
Rating: This one wasn't for me.
Watercolor Your Way: Techniques, Palettes, and Projects To Fit Your Skill Level and Creative Goals
"Don't fear messing it up - it's just a piece of paper."
TLDR: Sarah Cray has the most supportive, positive voice. If you want to feel cared for while you learn to watercolor, look no further.
If you want to learn watercolor from a book, this is a good option. If you have already learned watercolor from videos, this book still has value, if you want to learn from this media. Personally I think learn watercolor from a book is a bit more challenging than a video. However, this book does provide links to video for certain techniques which is such a nice thing to include. The real advantage here is that you can take it at your own speed and won't ever feel pressured by a video to work faster. I am not new to watercolor but I am a novice who practices inconsistently. So speaking from that perspective, I would recommend this book. That being said as someone who is done watercolor before I feel like Sarah doesn't explain how to mix colors at any point and while that has become one of my favorite things about watercolor (I love mixing colors possibly more than painting), it was intimidating at first. To have her say create a peach without any instruction about how to do it with yellow, blue, and magenta could be a bit daunting for beginner. But that is my only complaint. The structure of the book as beginner, intermediate, advanced, and finding your style is great. You're lead through more and more difficult techniques until you're told to mix it up and try everything. Sarah Cray has such a kind and encouraging way of teaching that you may want to buy this book just to feel good.
TLDR: Sarah Cray has the most supportive, positive voice. If you want to feel cared for while you learn to watercolor, look no further.
If you want to learn watercolor from a book, this is a good option. If you have already learned watercolor from videos, this book still has value, if you want to learn from this media. Personally I think learn watercolor from a book is a bit more challenging than a video. However, this book does provide links to video for certain techniques which is such a nice thing to include. The real advantage here is that you can take it at your own speed and won't ever feel pressured by a video to work faster. I am not new to watercolor but I am a novice who practices inconsistently. So speaking from that perspective, I would recommend this book. That being said as someone who is done watercolor before I feel like Sarah doesn't explain how to mix colors at any point and while that has become one of my favorite things about watercolor (I love mixing colors possibly more than painting), it was intimidating at first. To have her say create a peach without any instruction about how to do it with yellow, blue, and magenta could be a bit daunting for beginner. But that is my only complaint. The structure of the book as beginner, intermediate, advanced, and finding your style is great. You're lead through more and more difficult techniques until you're told to mix it up and try everything. Sarah Cray has such a kind and encouraging way of teaching that you may want to buy this book just to feel good.
TLDR: Hurt/comfort romance about recovering from the past
I'm not really sure what it was about this book but I ate it up. It seemed super short to me. At 262 pages it is not a short book but it flew by (although the audiobook was only 5.5 hours). The start to the book grabs you right away and there is seemingly no reason to put it down. I loved the found family aspect of this story. Always a wonderful troupe in my opinion. Our MMCs have history so the fast paced nature of their relationship didn't read as instant love (which I can't stand). But I did still felt like I didn't get enough. I really can't pin point why but I wanted more. Regardless, if drug use/recovery isn't a trigger for you and you enjoy a hurt/comfort story, you can read this one really quickly!
Rating: I enjoyed this story but it isn't one that I will reread
I'm not really sure what it was about this book but I ate it up. It seemed super short to me. At 262 pages it is not a short book but it flew by (although the audiobook was only 5.5 hours). The start to the book grabs you right away and there is seemingly no reason to put it down. I loved the found family aspect of this story. Always a wonderful troupe in my opinion. Our MMCs have history so the fast paced nature of their relationship didn't read as instant love (which I can't stand). But I did still felt like I didn't get enough. I really can't pin point why but I wanted more. Regardless, if drug use/recovery isn't a trigger for you and you enjoy a hurt/comfort story, you can read this one really quickly!
Rating: I enjoyed this story but it isn't one that I will reread
""Maybe wait until you can walk and look at his ass at the same time without falling, though." .... Yeah, that could take a while."
TLDR: Ashlyn Kane and Morgan James do it again but don't rob yourself of cameo joy. Start with book 1.
If you liked the other books in this series, you will like this one. If for some reason you want to jump in now and not start at the beginning, you are looking at a gay hockey romance with delightful banter that will absolutely make you laugh. These books all feel like rom-coms. There are still important themes addressed just with a lot of levity. Of the four, this book had the least heavy subjects. There was still richness to the characters. They had their baggage and they had it for a reason but it didn't feel as pertinent to the story. The conflict in this book was very different from the first three books and totally caught me by surprise.
While you can jump right into the series here, I would recommend starting at the beginning. This book includes a lot of cameos from characters you know and love from the first three books and you just won't get the same experience if you start here.
Rating: I will probably re-read this book
TLDR: Ashlyn Kane and Morgan James do it again but don't rob yourself of cameo joy. Start with book 1.
If you liked the other books in this series, you will like this one. If for some reason you want to jump in now and not start at the beginning, you are looking at a gay hockey romance with delightful banter that will absolutely make you laugh. These books all feel like rom-coms. There are still important themes addressed just with a lot of levity. Of the four, this book had the least heavy subjects. There was still richness to the characters. They had their baggage and they had it for a reason but it didn't feel as pertinent to the story. The conflict in this book was very different from the first three books and totally caught me by surprise.
While you can jump right into the series here, I would recommend starting at the beginning. This book includes a lot of cameos from characters you know and love from the first three books and you just won't get the same experience if you start here.
Rating: I will probably re-read this book
Quick and Easy Low Carb Snacks: 75 Delicious Keto and Paleo Treats for Fat Burning and Great Nutrition
Martina Slajerova, Dana Carpender
TLDR: While I am not sure that I consider all of these quick or easy, there are recipes worth trying if you want some healthy snack alternatives.
First of all I do not eat a keto diet nor am I gluten free. I picked up this cookbook because I am looking for easy low calorie snacks. I think anyone on keto or who is gluten free could find some good snacks in here. For my purposes, there are some recipes I will try and some that are just too high calorie. It's easy to pick and choose because a ton of nutritional information is provided with each recipe.
I don't consider a lot of these recipes quick or easy. Having to pre-make your own nut butter is not quick or easy and requires special equipment. That being said if you find a nut butter that you can just purchase that has the preferred ingredients then maybe the recipes will be quick. But honestly maybe it's worth my time to make my own chocolate hazelnut butter... The equipment to do so at all or with any ease will probably be very expensive (looking at you Vitamix).
Ingredients are straightforward and easy to find for the most part. There all a few recipes that call for things I'd have to visit my local co-op to find. Artificial sugars are used in some of the recipes. If you don't care for artificial sugars some of the recipes won't work for you at all. Or they won't be sugar-free and low carb anyway. But there were plenty of recipes were no artificial sweetener was used.
While I don't know if this book delivered on the promise in the title, I do think you could find some healthy (healthier) snack options in this book.
First of all I do not eat a keto diet nor am I gluten free. I picked up this cookbook because I am looking for easy low calorie snacks. I think anyone on keto or who is gluten free could find some good snacks in here. For my purposes, there are some recipes I will try and some that are just too high calorie. It's easy to pick and choose because a ton of nutritional information is provided with each recipe.
I don't consider a lot of these recipes quick or easy. Having to pre-make your own nut butter is not quick or easy and requires special equipment. That being said if you find a nut butter that you can just purchase that has the preferred ingredients then maybe the recipes will be quick. But honestly maybe it's worth my time to make my own chocolate hazelnut butter... The equipment to do so at all or with any ease will probably be very expensive (looking at you Vitamix).
Ingredients are straightforward and easy to find for the most part. There all a few recipes that call for things I'd have to visit my local co-op to find. Artificial sugars are used in some of the recipes. If you don't care for artificial sugars some of the recipes won't work for you at all. Or they won't be sugar-free and low carb anyway. But there were plenty of recipes were no artificial sweetener was used.
While I don't know if this book delivered on the promise in the title, I do think you could find some healthy (healthier) snack options in this book.