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sapphic_library's Reviews (279)
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
i only knocked one star off for the spanish mistakes
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
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
"arthur and teddy are coming out" is such a wonderful and heartfelt story about a grandfather and his grandson who have a very big secret in common. when arthur decides to come out at 79, they both have to deal with the aftermath of his revelation in different ways, and it sets off a series of events chronicled through both of their POVs. i absolutely loved this book and found it so touching, sincere, and hopeful, and it's safe to say i was on the verge of tears toward the end. arthur and teddy's story does have its fair share of struggles and it's not an easy road, but while a lot of the characters were deeply flawed, their redemption arcs pay off in the end. my only real issue with the book was pacing—the beginning of the book felt very slow paced compared to the last third of the book, where so much happened in very quick succession, with a lot of time jumps in between. this did make me feel like ben's redemption came a tad too early and teddy forgive him too easily, but it didn't take away from my enjoyment of the book. "arthur and teddy are coming out" is out from harper collins on february 27th! thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy of this book.
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
this book was just... fine. it was a short and easy read, so i finished it, but if it had been maybe 50 pages longer, i probably would've caved and dnf'd it. the main character was very much a pick-me, "i'm not like other girls" girl, which is just such a tired trope. it's 2024, not 2004. i honestly found both aiden and jace to be more compelling than lori, and they were most of the reason why i followed through and read the book. i just found it so hard to believe that someone would be so emotionally unaware and immature to think they've been in love with their best friend for so long and not even try to get over him? i don't know. if it hadn't been a dual pov, i probably would've given up without jace's inner monologue to get me through. that being said, the book did have several redeeming qualities other than the few (major) issues i had with it. jace, aiden and lori had great chemistry and i loved their friendship, both lori and jace were really funny and their chemistry was insanely good, especially toward the end of the book. for all that the end felt very rushed, the idea of a secret wedding at their best friend's wedding (not to mention getting married about 0.5 seconds after getting together) didn't bother me as much as it would have in a different book, since they had been best friends for so long and knew each other so intimately. overall, i would definitely recommend this to someone looking for a silly, goofy, easy-to-read romance novel. thank you to netgalley and the publisher for giving me an advanced copy of this book.
so let them burn is a gripping jamaican-inspired fantasy about two sisters, their love for each other, and the choice between saving your homeland or saving your sister. while it took me a bit to get into it (i am not usually a fantasy girlie so sometimes the worldbuilding overwhelms me), once i did, i couldn't put the book down. faron and elara were both so nuanced, so complex and so relatable, and i loved them as main characters, their relationship with each other, and their relationships with their love interests. everything about it, from the themes that resonate with real-life issues, the main characters, the romances, everything was just absolutely fantastic and i was so deeply immersed into the story that i felt like i was part of the action. kamilah cole's writing is stunning, beautiful but not too flowery, smart but not too complicated, and so so so engaging. i couldn't recommend this book more if i tried. i received an ARC of this book from netgalley in exchange for my honest review.
if you’re going to set half your book in a foreign country, you could at the very least do the bare minimum and research basic facts about that country so it’s not blatantly obvious that you know absolutely nothing about it.
three stars only because i liked aiden so much
(update: even aiden couldn't prevent me from knocking it down half a star)
(update: even aiden couldn't prevent me from knocking it down half a star)
