skudiklier's reviews
562 reviews

emotional funny reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

This was very cute! It's been a bit since I read Heartstopper so I'm a little confused tbh on where this fits into the story, but that didn't hinder my reading or anything. It just made me wonder at how big of a deal this was and the fact that it's not in the comics. But other than that I loved this. (Also commuuunniiiccattee but they're teenagers so they get a pass haha. Oh and double also, as someone who's now married to the first person they ever dated, who they met in high school, who then moved across the world and had to be long distance for a while still as teenagers, this was extra relatable. I love how they're handling it.)

Not the End of the World: How We Can Be the First Generation to Build a Sustainable Planet by Hannah Ritchie

Go to review page

hopeful informative inspiring medium-paced

5.0

I want everyone feeling climate anxiety to read this book. It helped so much. It felt so real in that it didn't shy away from the bad things or minimize the problems, but instead pointed in the direction we should be worrying/thinking about, so we can focus on solutions instead of give into despair. I love this book and the way it was written and I'm going to recommend it any chance I get.

Nora Goes Off Script by Annabel Monaghan

Go to review page

emotional hopeful lighthearted reflective medium-paced

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

3.5

Not gonna lie this was pretty dumb. I was really trying to give it the benefit of the doubt because Vanessa Zoltan recommended it and her recs have never disappointed me before, but I guess there's a first time for everything.

Leo was just....an asshole? Like, I don't understand why he's a dick in the beginning and then is supposedly great later and no explanation is given for why he's a dick. Like yes he's grieving but it never even seems to imply that he ever apologizes for how he treated Nora in the beginning, or acknowledged that he was treating her badly. Idk. He wasn't terrible the rest of the book but I just couldn't get past how he acted in the beginning. Like. Why would Nora even like him??? They just fall in love so suddenly.

And then the breakup.........no spoilers but god. Sorry this just felt like a Hallmark movie in all the worst ways (which is funny given she writes Hallmark movies).

I still was engaged with it and wanted to know what happened, which is why I read it so quickly. But idk man. I just didn't like it. I expect more from romance.

The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren

Go to review page

Did not finish book. Stopped at 9%.

I was prepared to accept an explanation for why the guy was being rude to her, but his best man toast completely turned me off. Even if he's not a dick in the way she thinks, he's still a dick in a way I don't want to read about. I looked at some reviews to make sure I wasn't DNFing too early, but yeah. This feels very gross basic straight people culture romance to me and I have zero interest in continuing it, regardless of how good the rest of it might be.

Nona the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional funny 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? It's complicated

4.75

This is probably the wildest series I've ever read. The first book was weird, and then the second book was weirder, and then the third book was weirder in a totally different way. I can't wait for the fourth one and I know I'll have no idea what to expect when I do read it.

I was honestly a little worried about this one because (premise/early on spoilers)

it doesn't have Harrow or Gideon and I'd have to get used to entirely new characters for a lot of it.

But I actually really enjoyed it. I can't tell if this one is my favorite or if I just

really liked Nona.

Regardless, I cried at the end, and have no idea what to say about this book. This series is so hard to review without spoiling it. Immediately after finishing it I looked up a summary of what happened because I knew that I probably missed at least something, and I did. But in some ways this third book was more readable than the others, imo.

(more intense spoilers)

And oh my god all the backstory stuff with John??? I love that we're three books in and finally finding out more world-building stuff. That was wild. It made all the internet meme references make more sense and seem sad tbh. Gosh this whole book was just wild. Also this was my favorite quote, I immediately wrote it down: "I say it and don't know what it means" 😭

Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark funny mysterious tense

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

4.75

Oh my god this book. I have no idea what to say about it. I don't know how else to say this but reading it made me feel like I was going crazy. I'm so glad I was reading this well after it came out and I could look up just enough people talking about it online so that I could know I was actually having the intended experience and not wildly misunderstanding something. For a book that made me feel like I had no idea what was happening, I loved it. I definitely want to read the next one. It made me scream at the people who recommended it to me. It has such a good payoff after all the confusion and disorientation. I wish all books were this devastating and this satisfying and this funny.

mild spoilers

NONE HOUSES LEFT GRIEF???? what the fuck.

Content Warnings

The Pairing by Casey McQuiston

Go to review page

emotional funny hopeful reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

I keep wanting to say this is my favorite of Casey McQuiston's books, but I know that it's been a couple years since I've read their other ones, and I'm biased by the fact that this is the one currently making me feel A Lot of Things. But that said!! This book was amazing. McQuiston has done it again.

There are so many things about this book that I loved. The friendship. The heartbreak. The different kinds of love and relationships and sex and closeness. The queerness of it all. The way it shifted perspectives at the best times. The way it handles Theo's gender. The way even when I thought I could see a problem coming, it always managed to surprise me instead.

This book made me feel so many things. It made me tell my partner that he's my best friend. It made me want to go back and reread McQuiston's other books. It made me want to taste everything and see everything and experience everything (and it made me very excited for my upcoming trip to Europe haha). I don't know how to compare this to their other books, since again, it's been a couple years since I read those. But The Pairing exceeded my expectations and I can't wait for my friends to read it so I can talk about it with them.

(My only complaint that isn't a standard romance "why didn't you talk to each other ugh" is so minor I hesitate to include it, but I will here just to get it off my chest, and so people who know me don't read this and think I loved this part of the book too: oh my god the rich white people vibes of this book. Any time all their bougie LA nepo baby shit came up I was struggling not to roll my eyes. In some ways the book addresses and makes up for this, but in some ways it doesn't. But. Again. I'm still giving the book five stars, so. Take all that as lightly as possible!!)

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the chance to read and review this ARC.

Content Warnings

Lizard Music by D. Manus Pinkwater

Go to review page

adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced

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

3.75

I don't really know what to say about this book. It's definitely a product of its time, and the racism is kind of wild. But other than that, idk. It was fun? I was reading it on a friend's recommendation and didn't know much going in. Personally I wasn't a big fan but I think (again, minus the racism) it would have been fun for kids.

Content Warnings

Ballad For Jasmine Town by Molly Ringle

Go to review page

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective 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? Yes

5.0

I loved this so much! The world was fascinating, the characters were so lovable and complex, and I was rooting for the relationships the whole time. The Wikipedia entries at the beginning were a super interesting start because in some ways it tells you how the book will end, but really it just leaves you slightly tense the whole book waiting for what you (kind of) know is coming.

I'd highly recommend this book, especially to fantasy and romance fans. I hadn't read Lava Red Feather Blue before this and now I'm excited to!

Thank you to Netgalley and Central Avenue Publishing for the chance to read and review this ARC.

Content Warnings

First Love: Essays on Friendship by Lilly Dancyger

Go to review page

emotional hopeful reflective slow-paced

3.75

I'm not sure what to say about this book. It was good, but not really my style; if I weren't reading an ARC to review I probably would have DNF'd it. I am glad in the end that I finished it, as some of the later essays were the ones I liked the most. But it just feels like such a personal preference thing. The ones I related to were my favorite (especially the ones about fears of having children). In general I wouldn't recommend it broadly, but if you're interested in the description then go for it! The writing is good.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House for the chance to read and review this ARC.

Content Warnings

More...

skudiklier's reviews 562 reviews

skudiklier's reviews
562 reviews