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sapphic_library's Reviews (279)
challenging
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
MEN HAVE CALLED HER CRAZY is anna marie tendler's memoir, an emotional and poignant story of mental health and the ways men can impact the lives of women. while i'm not much of a nonfiction reader, i do love memoirs and i was extremely excited to read tendler's. it was so raw, so powerful, and one of the best memoirs i've ever read.
i'm sure a lot of people are expecting this book to be a juicy tell-all that details what went down in tendler's divorce to her famous ex-husband, but this book is not that, proving that her story is bigger than just one man, and certainly bigger than all the men who have wronged her throughout the years. tendler's writing is witty, vulnerable, heartbreaking at times, and very easy to connect with. it really felt like i was sitting at a table with her working on some crafts while she told me the story of her life.
this book does deal extensively with a lot of heavy subjects, so make sure to look into trigger warnings before picking it up.
thanks to netgalley and simon & schuster for the advanced copy. MEN HAVE CALLED HER CRAZY comes out august 13.
i'm sure a lot of people are expecting this book to be a juicy tell-all that details what went down in tendler's divorce to her famous ex-husband, but this book is not that, proving that her story is bigger than just one man, and certainly bigger than all the men who have wronged her throughout the years. tendler's writing is witty, vulnerable, heartbreaking at times, and very easy to connect with. it really felt like i was sitting at a table with her working on some crafts while she told me the story of her life.
this book does deal extensively with a lot of heavy subjects, so make sure to look into trigger warnings before picking it up.
thanks to netgalley and simon & schuster for the advanced copy. MEN HAVE CALLED HER CRAZY comes out august 13.
dark
emotional
mysterious
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:
No
THE OTHER ONES is a hauntingly beautiful queer YA about grief and the effect it has on us. sal is a teenager who just wants to be like any other sixteen-year-old, but living in an infamous haunted house makes it hard to be ordinary. when pax moves to town and offers to help with the ghosts, sal begrudgingly accepts but finds himself warming up to this odd boy.
i wasn't sure quite what to expect from this book, but i found it so heartwarming and tender and i absolutely loved sal, his sister asha, pax, and all the other side characters. this was a very sweet story about grief, love, and friendship and i would definitely recommend it!
read if you like:
- the haunting of bly manor
- lovable teenage boys
- found family
thanks to netgalley and scholastic for the advanced copy. THE OTHER ONES is out august 20!
i wasn't sure quite what to expect from this book, but i found it so heartwarming and tender and i absolutely loved sal, his sister asha, pax, and all the other side characters. this was a very sweet story about grief, love, and friendship and i would definitely recommend it!
read if you like:
- the haunting of bly manor
- lovable teenage boys
- found family
thanks to netgalley and scholastic for the advanced copy. THE OTHER ONES is out august 20!
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
"'They're all like that. Men. They look at a girl and see only a thing designed to please them. Any wildness, any flame—it all stands in the way of what they want a girl to be.'
'And yet, the wildness is what you actually are,' Pteron said.
THE PALACE OF EROS is a beautiful sapphic retelling of the psyche and eros myth and definitely one of my favorite books that i've read this year. i admit i wasn't familiar with the myth before i started this book, but you don't really need to know it to be able to follow along with the story. this is such a stunning book with incredible prose, a very healthy amount of spice, and a happy ending: like THE SONG OF ACHILLES but make it sapphic and happy.
read if you like:
- greek myth retellings
- nonbinary deities
- queer joy
thanks to netgalley and atria for the advanced copy. THE PALACE OF EROS comes out august 13!
'And yet, the wildness is what you actually are,' Pteron said.
THE PALACE OF EROS is a beautiful sapphic retelling of the psyche and eros myth and definitely one of my favorite books that i've read this year. i admit i wasn't familiar with the myth before i started this book, but you don't really need to know it to be able to follow along with the story. this is such a stunning book with incredible prose, a very healthy amount of spice, and a happy ending: like THE SONG OF ACHILLES but make it sapphic and happy.
read if you like:
- greek myth retellings
- nonbinary deities
- queer joy
thanks to netgalley and atria for the advanced copy. THE PALACE OF EROS comes out august 13!
funny
lighthearted
fast-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:
No
CAN'T BUY ME LOVE is another fantastic sapphic romance from georgia beers, who's quickly becoming one of my favorite sapphic authors! london is a model-turned-journalist who gets invited on a trip to st. kitts with media mogul miranda northbrooke, where she meets kayla tennyson, head of her own security company and bodyguard to movie stars. their chemistry is explosive, but london can't tell her the reason for her trip without risking her work and the article she's working on.
if you're looking for fun, steamy sapphic romances, georgia beers never misses and this was once again true with CAN'T BUY ME LOVE. this was a really quick and easy read for me but i had a great time and would definitely recommend it for anyone who loves sapphic romance!
thanks to netgalley and bold strokes books for the advanced copy. CAN'T BUY ME LOVE is out august 13.
if you're looking for fun, steamy sapphic romances, georgia beers never misses and this was once again true with CAN'T BUY ME LOVE. this was a really quick and easy read for me but i had a great time and would definitely recommend it for anyone who loves sapphic romance!
thanks to netgalley and bold strokes books for the advanced copy. CAN'T BUY ME LOVE is out august 13.
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
DAYDREAM is the third installment in the MAPLE HILLS series and follows henry turner, now captain of the hockey team, as he gets help with his studies from halle jacobs, an aspiring author who's working on her first novel but struggling with her lack of life experiences. they strike a deal where halle helps henry study, while henry helps halle have more experiences to help her writing.
i'm so sorry to the hg stans out there... this book was not for me.
i haven't read the other two books in this series, so there were a lot of characters i didn't know and context i was missing. i knew this would be the case going in, but i figured i would be okay since it's supposed to be interconnected standalones, right? wrong. i was so confused for the first 30% of the book because kept showing up and i was supposed to know all about them and it made it really hard to follow.
then, the length. oh my god. this book was about 150 pages longer than it needed to be, in part due to the excessive instances of telling instead of showing. there were so many parts of the book where i would be editing it as i read along, cutting entire paragraphs from scenes that didn't need to be there. redundant conversations, unnecessary details, etc., etc. the length and the pacing, where it felt like nothing happened for pages and pages on end, are the biggest issue with the book.
now, i didn't completely hate it and there were a lot of things that i did enjoy!! i loved halle and henry's relationship, the way they supported and understood each other, the way he respected her boundaries (which is bare minimum, but i appreciated the constant reinforcement of it considering how things had gone down with her ex), and the way she knew how to help him through his struggles with his undiagnosed ADHD. once i finally figured out everyone's names, i loved that halle got a friend group (even if i still know nothing about emilia and poppy, other than the fact that they're gay).
while this was not the book for me, i know there will be tons of people who will love it and i'm happy for them, especially because a lot of people will feel seen by halle's character as the people-pleasing eldest daughter and by henry's ADHD.
read if you like:
- slooooow burn
- tutor x jock
- taylor swift references
thanks to netgalley and atria for the advanced copy! DAYDREAM comes out august 27.
i'm so sorry to the hg stans out there... this book was not for me.
i haven't read the other two books in this series, so there were a lot of characters i didn't know and context i was missing. i knew this would be the case going in, but i figured i would be okay since it's supposed to be interconnected standalones, right? wrong. i was so confused for the first 30% of the book because kept showing up and i was supposed to know all about them and it made it really hard to follow.
then, the length. oh my god. this book was about 150 pages longer than it needed to be, in part due to the excessive instances of telling instead of showing. there were so many parts of the book where i would be editing it as i read along, cutting entire paragraphs from scenes that didn't need to be there. redundant conversations, unnecessary details, etc., etc. the length and the pacing, where it felt like nothing happened for pages and pages on end, are the biggest issue with the book.
now, i didn't completely hate it and there were a lot of things that i did enjoy!! i loved halle and henry's relationship, the way they supported and understood each other, the way he respected her boundaries (which is bare minimum, but i appreciated the constant reinforcement of it considering how things had gone down with her ex), and the way she knew how to help him through his struggles with his undiagnosed ADHD. once i finally figured out everyone's names, i loved that halle got a friend group (even if i still know nothing about emilia and poppy, other than the fact that they're gay).
while this was not the book for me, i know there will be tons of people who will love it and i'm happy for them, especially because a lot of people will feel seen by halle's character as the people-pleasing eldest daughter and by henry's ADHD.
read if you like:
- slooooow burn
- tutor x jock
- taylor swift references
thanks to netgalley and atria for the advanced copy! DAYDREAM comes out august 27.
WHISKY BUSINESS is a small-town, grumpy/sunshine romance on the isle of skye in scotland, about april, an actress returning home after her career has reached a new low, and malcolm, the grumpy whisky distiller working in her grandfather's distillery. they get off to a rocky start, but with the distillery's best interests at heart, they come to an agreement to work together and save it—all while ignoring their explosive chemistry.
i had such a good time reading this book; grumpy/sunshine is a trope that never misses and i especially loved how malcolm was so quiet and awkward around april because he'd had a crush on her since they were kids. once they finally gave into the pull they felt toward each other... whew. i was blushing, kicking my feet and twirling my hair the whole time.
read if you like:
- opposites attract
- small scottish towns
- loud meddling families
thanks to netgalley and harper collins UK for the advanced copy! whisky business comes out june 6th in the UK (and came out june 4th in the US).
i had such a good time reading this book; grumpy/sunshine is a trope that never misses and i especially loved how malcolm was so quiet and awkward around april because he'd had a crush on her since they were kids. once they finally gave into the pull they felt toward each other... whew. i was blushing, kicking my feet and twirling my hair the whole time.
read if you like:
- opposites attract
- small scottish towns
- loud meddling families
thanks to netgalley and harper collins UK for the advanced copy! whisky business comes out june 6th in the UK (and came out june 4th in the US).
THE 7-10 SPLIT is a sapphic friends to rivals to lovers story about ava and grace, two estranged high school friends. after ten years of not seeing each other, they end up teaching at the same school and coaching the bowling team together, and along the way, some old feelings start to resurface. i absolutely loved their dynamic and i felt like the build up of their relationship was very well done, which can sometimes be tricky with rivals/enemies to lovers. along with that, i really enjoyed the cast of side characters and was very excited to find out vini's story is coming out next!! if you enjoy sapphic romances, rivals to lovers, and/or bowling, you should definitely read this book. thanks to netgalley and harlequin for the advanced copy! THE 7-10 SPLIT comes out may 21st!
emotional
funny
lighthearted
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
LOST AND LASSOED is a cowboy romance and the third installment in the REBEL BLUE RANCH series (aka one of my favorite series i've read this year). in LOST AND LASSOED, teddy and gus are forced to set their differences aside and work together for the summer. as they spend more and more time together, they start to see each other in a different light.
i love this series with everything in my heart and i have been anxiously awaiting the chance to read about teddy and gus because if there's one thing i love, it's fiery redheads and the men who love them (and oh boy does gus love teddy). this book was everything i wanted it to be and more (there's one bit in the epilogue that had me blushing, twirling my hair, kicking my feet, etc). this book was incredible and i absolutely cannot wait to read the next one (and to get more of teddy and gus in the background).
read if you like:
- enemies to lovers
- opposites attract
- spunky six-year-olds
thanks to netgalley and the dial press for the advanced copy! LOST AND LASSOED is out november 5.
i love this series with everything in my heart and i have been anxiously awaiting the chance to read about teddy and gus because if there's one thing i love, it's fiery redheads and the men who love them (and oh boy does gus love teddy). this book was everything i wanted it to be and more (there's one bit in the epilogue that had me blushing, twirling my hair, kicking my feet, etc). this book was incredible and i absolutely cannot wait to read the next one (and to get more of teddy and gus in the background).
read if you like:
- enemies to lovers
- opposites attract
- spunky six-year-olds
thanks to netgalley and the dial press for the advanced copy! LOST AND LASSOED is out november 5.
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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:
No
I'LL HAVE WHAT HE'S HAVING is adib khorram's adult debut and one of my most anticipated reads for 2024 and let me just say, it did not disappoint. farzan is a substitute teacher drowning his sorrows at a kansas city wine bar when he's mistaken for a food reviewer and given the star treatment by david, the resident sommelier. they share an unforgettable night together but don't expect to cross paths again, until farzan inherits his family's restaurant and comes to david for help.
i'm a huge fan of khorram's YA books, so i was incredibly excited to read his adult debut and it was absolutely worth the wait!! farzan and david's chemistry is incredible and i loved their relationship, the way they helped and supported each other, and how their relationship developed. i also loved the insight to iranian culture from farzan's POV and the description of food made me so hungry and desperate to find a persian restaurant nearby.
read if you like:
- wine and french fries
- steamy but realistic spice
- muppets references
thanks to netgalley and forever for the advanced copy! I'LL HAVE WHAT HE'S HAVING comes out august 27.
i'm a huge fan of khorram's YA books, so i was incredibly excited to read his adult debut and it was absolutely worth the wait!! farzan and david's chemistry is incredible and i loved their relationship, the way they helped and supported each other, and how their relationship developed. i also loved the insight to iranian culture from farzan's POV and the description of food made me so hungry and desperate to find a persian restaurant nearby.
read if you like:
- wine and french fries
- steamy but realistic spice
- muppets references
thanks to netgalley and forever for the advanced copy! I'LL HAVE WHAT HE'S HAVING comes out august 27.
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
WORST IN SHOW is a rivals to lovers romcom where two competing pet store owners fall for each other, but not without engaging in lots of bickering and antagonizing first.
i went into this book expecting a fun read, but i didn't know just how much fun i'd have and how invested i was going to get in cora and leo's story. it can be hard to do a rivals to lovers romance without overdoing the rivals bit or getting to the lovers bit too fast, but i felt like there was just the right balance of both in this book. cora's hesitance to trust leo and let him in, the way he slowly breaks down her walls, how she warms up to him, and how they eventually fall for each other... i loved all of it. and as a bonus, lots of cute dogs!!
read if you like:
- pranking as a form of foreplay
- a dash of secret identity
- the cutest dogs ever
thanks to netgalley and forever for the advanced copy! WORST IN SHOW comes out august 13.
i went into this book expecting a fun read, but i didn't know just how much fun i'd have and how invested i was going to get in cora and leo's story. it can be hard to do a rivals to lovers romance without overdoing the rivals bit or getting to the lovers bit too fast, but i felt like there was just the right balance of both in this book. cora's hesitance to trust leo and let him in, the way he slowly breaks down her walls, how she warms up to him, and how they eventually fall for each other... i loved all of it. and as a bonus, lots of cute dogs!!
read if you like:
- pranking as a form of foreplay
- a dash of secret identity
- the cutest dogs ever
thanks to netgalley and forever for the advanced copy! WORST IN SHOW comes out august 13.