sarahyjackson's reviews
167 reviews

Pretty Rings and Broken Things by Kat Singleton

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emotional fast-paced

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

3.5

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Ours by Phillip B. Williams

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emotional hopeful mysterious sad slow-paced

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

4.0

Once I settled into the Afro-surrealist genre/posture I was able to enjoy the story more. I liked what I felt was the tension of “freedom from/freedom to” within Ours. Saint was a really compelling character!

The audiobook was really well done but I found I needed the anchoring experience of holding this book in my hands and moving my eyes over the words — so I actually did most of it as a physical read.

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Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism by Amanda Montell

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funny informative sad fast-paced

5.0

Smart, snarky, compassionate!

Sleet Princess by S.J. Tilly

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emotional funny fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

A perfect hug of conclusion to the Sleet series with bonus furry play. 💕💕💕

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The Professional by Kresley Cole

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dark emotional 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? It's complicated

4.0

Love a bodyguard mafia moment.

Content Warnings

The Devil's Bargain by Carin Hart

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dark emotional fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? N/A
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? N/A
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

2.0

Mafia vibes but fairly undercooked.

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How You Get The Girl by Anita Kelly

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emotional funny fast-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

5.0

“But that when it came to identity, when it came to queerness, the whole point was that there were no tryouts. If you were even thinking about it, you were already on the team. That labels weren't meant to confine, only to bring comfort to those for whom they were useful.

That Julie didn't need to ascribe to any of them if she didn't want to.

Elle wanted to say that, label or no label, hearing Julie just describe relationships and sexuality in sports metaphors was the gayest thing that had ever happened to her. And she had spent half her life dedicated to women's basketball.”

Lemme tell you what I normally like my romance fairly kink/smut forward with enough plot to sort of hold the thing together but this Tennessee set story of two folks navigating care (personal and systemic) and queerness and BASKETBALL done gone and challenged that notion for real.

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The Great Divide by Cristina Henríquez

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emotional informative medium-paced

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

3.5

Made me want to learn more about the construction of the Panama Canal - and I appreciated having, even fictional, a different lens into this history.

Largely though, the characters and their journeys felt kind of meh and forgettable to me?

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