uraveragelesbianreader's reviews
14 reviews

The Theft of Sunlight by Intisar Khanani

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adventurous mysterious slow-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

5.0

How this book is not a staple of teen/YA fantasy I do not understand. The flow of this book was gorgeous and the dialogue flowed beautifully and never felt janky or forced. The world building was deep and immersive but did not overshadow any other elements of the book but instead worked with them to create complete and cohesive scenes. The single perspective of the main character and the way the author uses this to show information to you only as Rae herself acquires it leads to intriguing and action packed scenes.  This book genuinely had my heart racing as I read it, the overwhelming almost existential threat of the snatchers that grows the deeper she goes into the mystery is incredible. Watching the subtle character growth of Rae throughout even just the first book was beautiful. Every choice she makes feels like it has real ramifications. The strong morality of Rae stands in stark opposition to the characters around her and she is the perfect choice of main character for a novel like this. The way her morality is pushed to its limits and she is forced to make increasingly tough decisions and the reader is dragged right along with her. Every twist and turn this book takes feels earned and even those that come out of nowhere at first fit the plot and are never just a cheap scare. Tension in this book is built through beautiful passages and every moment no matter how small feels like it could spiral into a significant plot point. This leaves you wanting to read every page thrice over just to ensure you havent missed anything and really helps put you in Raes position. I have already mentioned a few times how much I love Rae as a main character but I truly cannot say it enough. She feels like someone we either are ourselves or know well, she is not perfectly moral, she is not without flaws and she is not above failure. She manages to avoid all the typical sexist tropes female main characters can fall into and as the story grows she grows with it. I cannot wait to see how she will develop across the next book(s?). On the note of harmful stereotypes, I would like to applaud the diversity of this book and the unique way it was done. This book has several female characters specifically characters of colour and yet there is no misogyny or racism in this book. I find it oftentimes upsetting how much unnecessary bigotry often finds its way into books like these with various excuses for it. Although this book does contain ablesim it feels purposeful for the narrative and the main character (who is disabled) is never cured of her disability and it is not treated as a grand hindrance to her, it simply is. This was a wonderfully refreshing take on disability in fantasy novels and I wish more authors would follow the lead set by the author here. There is a small romantic subplot that I found thoroughly enjoyable despite there being no explicit romantic scenes between the two. I also found this wonderfully refreshing as it feels many modern fantasy books have become romance books with a fantasy subplot. I have been reading teen/YA fantasy since I was 11 years old and I can confidently say I have never read a book like this before. If you are bored of the typical fantasy format, a mystery lover looking for a good first YA fantasy book or a seasoned fantasy reader and enjoyer like myself I would recommend this book to you. I cannot wait to see where this series goes and I fully intend to spend the next days bingeing on Kahanis other books.
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The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School by Sonora Reyes

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emotional funny inspiring reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Although I dont consider it particularly hard to get me to give something a 5 star review I feel few books have earned it as much as this one had. A modern romp that I read in one sitting it gives a wonderful insight into the lesbian experience and offered an often undervalued perspective on it as well. The tougher scenes at this book feel used but not overused and the conflict that occurs feels like it genuinely has to be worked on to be resolved. As a lesbian who was raised in religion this book made me absolutely sob like a snivelling baby more than once. Full of romantic tropey goodness (including but not limited to; Fake dating, secret relationship, slowburn, mutual pining that neither party thinks is mutual) if you are looking for a beautiful, touching, teen romance slowburn romance look no further.  The fact that this book is not more heavily marketed is a crime against queer readers everywhere. Heed the TWs specifcally about issues like suicide and theres no tag for it but there is HEAVY discussion of inter-generational trauma in immigrant families, adoption trauma and deportation. All of these harder topics are touched on in a meaningful and important way and the book tackles them in a thorough and nuanced way. This book offers a deeply valuable and often missing perspective into the Lesbian experience and it should be on every queer booklist imaginable. I would recommend this to every Lesbian and every queer person specifically those of us struggling with growing up queer in the church. I would especially recommend this book to those looking to diversify their reading and read more books from BIPOC authors within the queer community. Hats off to Sonora Reyes this is a wonderful book in every regard.
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Delilah Green Doesn't Care by Ashley Herring Blake

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emotional funny lighthearted 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

4.25

I once saw someone call this a romance book written for tiktok and theyre not wrong but it is MY romance book written for tiktok. When people say that queer people deserve cringey romance books, this is what they mean. I devoured this book in one afternoon after finally caving into the hype and buying it. I have three main criticisms. Sometimes the writing felt like it was written to go viral on tiktok and made me question if two people would ever actually say that to each other in real life. Then again, this is a romance book so if youre someone who consistently reads romance (I am not) this likely won't bug you. Two, some of the problems in the book almost get poofed away in a manner that feels unsatisfying especially when they are built up to be major plot points. My final criticism is how much it plays into the 'ambiguously queer woman' trope. I dont think theres anything wrong with having unlableded characters or having characters who are simply ambiguously queer, but in this book they felt oversatured especially considering how they already prevail in most wlw media. I would have really enjoyed seeing at least one character label themselves as a lesbian, bisexual or pansexual. Specifically because Delilah is quite clearly a lesbian at one point explicitly saying she only dates/sleeps with women and nonbinary people. The L word however, is only dropped once on page 214 in a mildly tasteless joke about butch lesbians. This is however not to say I did not enjoy this book. The romance feels earned and the characters are funny and it all feels straight out of a cheesy hallmark romcom in the best way possible. The shenanigans in this book somehow did not make me feel deeply second hand embarrassed like I normally would and that made an enjoyable read. Lighthearted moments prevail overall but the more serious touching moments are not overshadowed. Overall I'm happy to see queer women get the representation we have deserved in the romance genre.  I would recommend this more to people who are well inundated in the romance genre but it is not a bad first romance read either. 
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Juniper & Thorn by Ava Reid

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dark mysterious sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Came into this book expecting something wildly different than I got but I was more than satisfied anyways. (This book had for some reason been marketed to be as wlw which it was not). It was everything a dark historical fantasy should be with gripping writing, immersive world building and suspense scenes that genuinely made me unable to put this book down. In my opinion the world building of this book is highly underrated, the verbiage used by Ava Reid to describe scenes makes even the most mundane things and actions feel tense as a reader. I think it sometimes became lost in its own sauce so to speak and the plot became a bit muddled and required some suspension of disbelief. For me this is why it was not quite 5 stars but its a fantasy so this is probably more of a personal preference. HEAVY on the TWs for this book it is an uncomfortable read but it is not gratuitous or unnecessary in its use of difficult topics. The twists and turns this book takes all feel earned and satisfying nothing feels thrown at you or dropped at your feet and left. Overall I would recommend this book for someone looking for a darker read or an atypical fantasy story.
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