vinreads's reviews
71 reviews

Dancing the Dream by Michael Jackson

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emotional hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing fast-paced

5.0

Deep End by Ali Hazelwood

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 41%.
I haven't been liking Ali Hazelwood lately but this is a new low. What in the misogynist bullshit was this? Seriously. Lukas is the worst MMC I've ever read in a while and that's saying something because I've hated plenty of them. He just wanted some obedient little doll to have sex with and thought he could fix Scarlett ... via anal? Be warned if that's the kind of book you're looking for, cool! But if you're going into this expecting Ali's usually great works, then that's what you're getting. A man who thinks he can fix a woman via anal. Oh! And he's only 22. There's plenty more I found wrong with this in the short but I did get through, and the sex scenes I skimmed because I wasn't loving them, but if this is what Ali thinks is her greatest work? Maybe she's not so much a feminist after all. 
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A Tempest of Tea by Hafsah Faizal

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 5%.
Whenever I get an inkling that I should check the reviews for a book, I know it's because it doesn't appeal to me or draw me in. I was having issues connecting with the story early in, and it really reminded me a lot of how much I hated six of crows. Come to find out that most people think it's a Walmart six of crows, so, I wasn't wrong! 
Wings of Starlight by Allison Saft

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challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

Listen... there was no better author to write this than Allison Saft. I've been in love with her work since I read A Fragile Enchantment, and when she announced this, I was unimaginably happy. I've wanted a backstory to Milori and Clarion for years, and even though I know their story ends well, years into the fairyverse future, I still couldn't help but cry at the ending. This was so sweet and tender and filled with longing, it broke my heart as much as it broke theirs to be apart. Saft did an amazing job with the feel of the book, the language and prose, the character design, everything. She embodied both Milori and Clarion so well, it almost felt like a design of Disney themselves. My childhood heart is as happy as it is sad, both for the inclusion of their story, and for the way it tugged at my heartstrings until they broke. I've been trying to refrain from adding books to my already packed tight shelves, but I don't think I'll be able to keep myself from adding this one to my collection. 
Fan Service by Rosie Danan

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

It's currently 2 am and I'm bawling my eyes out. I've always had an interest in Celebritydom, para social relationships, and people's obsession with their favorite celebs and the characters they portray. I think a lot of people forget that celebrities are people too, and while some are bonafide jerks, some are just.. people. I'm reminded of Josh Sundquist'e dive into celebrity claim to fame and who recognizes actors and actresses and why, and the impact that can have on their lives and careers. He interviews many people including an actress known so often for her face that she became reclusive due to the amount of people always harassing and dehumanizing her trying to get her autograph as the girl from that one show. 

I think this book highlights a great importance into how we treat people we have no relationship with whatsoever. We even see it in Alex herself and the way she sort of fangirls throughout the book over Devin the more she gets to know the real him. She still sort of conflates him with his character, so much so that one of his thoughts is that he'll matter to her in whatever way he can, even if it's only as Colby Sutherland, the character in the show she adores. 

He lets his past haunt him, because he's stuck in an echo chamber of self deprecating thoughts and the intense need to be what people want him to be most, because no one's ever loved him for who he really is. People take advantage of him over and over because they know he's easy to walk all over, and he's never truly able to heal from that until he gets himself out of that toxic environment that is Hollywood and Celebritydom. 

I cried for him at several points because I get how it feels to feel like you're only wanted when you're being who someone wants you to be. He was hurtful as a younger man, and yet he owned up to it, with intents to make up for it much as he could because he knew what he did was wrong no matter the reason for his behavior. Neither he nor Alex really grew as characters until the very end, but I think they both had a lot to work through, him more so than anything. 

All serious things aside, this was a love note to all the weird girls out there, to all the monster lovers and fangirls, the ones who spend hours at night on AO3 with their favorite fics and rare pairs. Rosie Danan knocked this one out of the park. She wrote real, raw characters, banging sex scenes, adults who didn't act like they were 12, and a storyline that was equal parts silly and raunchy as it was serious and clearly well cared for and researched into. I took a chance on this one because I wasn't fond of her last, and I don't stay up til 2 am for many books, if that's any indication how much I liked this one. My eyes burn as I write this, but I couldn't be happier to be right here, right now, writing this review to talk about just how much I adore this book. And especially Devin. For sure the tortured sunshine himbo of the year (and possibly my entire life). 
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Star Daughter by Shveta Thakrar

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 11%.
Took too long to get to the point, sentences were repeating, and there were too many characters to keep track of who was who and what relationship they were to the FMC. 
Joined at the Joints by Marissa Eller

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 19%.
Didn't hook me. Felt like it took too long, and the plot was pretty much nonexistent. 
Mostly Void, Partially Stars by Joseph Fink, Jeffrey Cranor

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful informative mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

5.0

I've listened and re listened, and read and reread and consumed every bit of media possible in this series. Never will I cease to be surprised, shocked, delighted, and flabbergasted at the things I find in the world of nightvale. Sometimes, I like to think that maybe we are all just lost, waiting to find our way back to nightvale, and this book is trying to get us to come home. And then I think, no, that's just the mindfuck this book takes me on. Conspiracy theories aren't real; Cecil and Carlos (unfortunately) are not real. Dog parks are safe to go in. There is no shape in the back of Grove Park. Subway sandwiches do not have Nutella on them. We are all safe from Telly the barber. 

And now, the weather. 
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Knot My Type by Evie Mitchell

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted sad fast-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

4.0

A favorite of mine from late 2023. I've read a few Evie Mitchell books since, and I have a few more tacked onto my tbr. Her books are funny, sexy, inclusive, and everything you could ever want in an inclusive romance book. Mitchell really makes disability inclusive books for the girls and the gays, and I'm low-key sitting, waiting and wishing for Noah to get his happily ever after, and so excited to read Mai's story. 
Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness by Susannah Cahalan

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dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

3.75

I'd intended to read a medical memoir for a reading challenge so I figured, why not this one? The movie intrigued me, though I haven't watched it yet, but I'm glad I started with the book first. Everything leading up to her recovery was interesting and had me gripping the edge of my seat. The after, was a bit mundane, and didn't capture my attention half as much. It was interesting reading about what was happening with her, and just how long and how many doctors it took for them to finally figure out what was going on with her. Medicine in 2009 was not as advanced as it is now, and even now, it's not perfect, and this is a testament to the medicine world and how much it's progressed or stayed stagnant since 2009. 
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