vinreads's reviews
72 reviews

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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The Lair by Lisina Coney

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dark emotional hopeful inspiring 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

I've loved Lisina Coney's books ever since her first, and when I heard she was releasing a darker romance, I knew I had to read it. I have always thought she handles sensitive topics in a really respectful way, and I believe she did just as well with this one as her others. Social media is a circus, one that children shouldn't be a part of. This book to it to an extreme that, unfortunately, does exist in real life, and I think it would be important if a lot more people read this book, even if it weren't for the romance aspect, which I loved. This was beautifully written and hats off to Coney for writing another amazing book. I'd read another like this from her in a heartbeat. 
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Promise Me Sunshine by Cara Bastone

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective relaxing sad tense 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

Oh god. I knew this book was going to ruin me but I didn't think it'd ruin me this good. I loved Bastone's last book, and as soon as I knew this was coming out I knew I had to read it. I fell in love with Lenny and Miles, and the ways they cared for each other. Lenny is messy, and Miles doesn't care. He loves her for all her mess, and he never once pushes her to be ready for something she's not ready for. He's caring and kind and deserves so much more than he realizes. She's just as in love with him, and it's so refreshing to read a story about two people who help each other heal and love each other equally. Definitely one of my favorites of the year. 
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Not That Kind Of Hero by Alexia Casale

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1.0

First Love, Second Draft by Becca Kinzer

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1.0

These two should have stayed divorced. I've read second chance divorce romances before, and there's something still there to suggest they have a chance of getting back together. There's absolutely no inclination from the get go on Gracie's side that she may want to get back together with her ex. He, on the other hand, keeps calling her babe even though they're divorced and she tells him no multiple times, tells her that now that he can't play baseball anymore (which is why they divorced, he chose his career over her) that he has more time for her! Oh wonderful, he only wants her now that he's useless! If a man really wanted his wife back, he'd consider making a compromise of some sort, especially if they divorced because he was too busy with his career to have time for her. He came running back simply because he wasn't needed in his career anymore.

It's red flag city, and I gave it a chance when I should've dnfed.

This review is my own honest opinion. Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC. 
The Last Boyfriends Rules for Revenge by Matthew Hubbard

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challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing tense 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

This book is one of the most important books a Queer teen in these times could ever read. It's witty, it's funny, it's harsh, but it speaks the truth. We need more authors like Hubbard to write bold books like this. We need more rebellion (see his second book, releasing this year). I am proud to say I'm a bisexual trans man, and Matthew Hubbard makes me even prouder to say it with his forward book about showing off your pride in a time where it's becoming more and more demonized in the US. This book is set in Alabama and I think that's so important because deep red states like those ones are where "Don't say gay" bills will go into effect first. They're the states where they'll expect people to be okay with laws like these because they're under educated, just as the president wants. He wants to censor us. He wants to make us go away. But we're here to stay, and authors like Hubbard illustrate that very well. It's a shame I haven't read this book until now, but I have and I can proudly say I love it. So excited to read my ARC of his second book. 

We're here, and we're queer, and authors like Hubbard give me hope for the future, that we can fight back against this oppressive society and that some day, it'll all be okay. 
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Crash Landing: A Novel by Annie McQuaid

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medium-paced

1.0

Disappointed. I thought authors knew better than to insert Harry Potter references into their books in the year 2025? I read a book recently that was published in 2021(?) that was republished traditionally and apologized for the fact that the book has references to HP that she was unable to revise as per her contract. If that's what books these days look like, then why would an author think it to be okay to include that in a brand new book in a time where trans people are under attack? This is the author's debut, and I loved it up until the Harry Potter references. After that I did not care. I make it a point to finish books if they're ARCs as I don't tend to like to DNF them, but boy did I want to DNF this. Please do better. There is no room in my life for people who wrote Harry Potter references in their books, because to me, that tells me you are willing to platform a terf and bigot. 

This review is my honest opinion based on an ARC I received through Netgalley. 
Morbidly Yours by Ivy Fairbanks

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This is a reread, and one of my absolute favorites at that. Lark and Callum have a special place in my heart and I knew I needed to reread this book before the second book comes out. I found Ivy Fairbanks because of another person who'd posted on Instagram about a romcom featuring a widow and an Irish undertaker. It sounded so witty and funny and to my absolute delight, I adored it. Since then, Ivy has gotten a deal with Penguin books and had this book republished as well as the second standalone in this series which comes out in just a few short months. I feel some sort of secondhand pride watching her go from her debut novel about a shy Irish undertaker with a stutter fighting to save his family home and a widower trying to make a name for herself in the art world whilst coping with her husband's death, to a trad publishing deal and it's all I ever want for all my author friends I've made over this past year and a half. Please do yourself a favor and read this, you won't regret it. I can't always sincerely say that about a lot of books, but this one, I can. No criticisms nothing I hated about it, it flows well and makes me laugh and cry and I love the usage of Gaeilge on Callum's part. Ivy Fairbanks is a mastermind and an absolutely astounding author. 
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Daybreak Volume 1 by Moosopp

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted relaxing fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • 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 followed this artist's work for years now and I'm so excited to see a published version of Moosop's work!! I was enthralled to see it up for request on Netgalley and even more excited to have been approved for the ARC! I just got it today but have already finished it. I plowed through this like it was no one's business. The art style is so cute and I've always loved how easy to read graphic novels are.  I'm definitely looking forward to reading volume 2! 
Blood Beneath the Snow by Alexandra Kennington

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Thank you to Ace Pub and Berkeley for the free book!!

This was an amazing book but... what was that ending? It was so abrupt, with so many loose ends left untied, and I just have to hope there's an unplanned sequel. What did the Kryllian Queen want with Revna? What becomes of her and The Hellbringer? Will her powers develop more? There has to be answers. I'll be disappointed if not. 

That said, I really enjoyed this. I struggle to get through romantasy books sometimes, and I didn't find myself struggling with this one. Historically, for me, it usually takes upwards of five days minimum for me to get through a romantasy/fantasy, and this took me around 2 days. It was easy to get through, compelling enough for me to want to keep turning the pages, and wasn't so filled with straight filler or too much clunky plot that it tripped me up. The one thing I think I'll continue to be hung up on, however, is the end. I'm gonna be stewing about that one for a while. I did like how the romance developed, I saw others say they thought that the romance was too instalove, but I felt it wasn't too much. They met officially around 36% if I remember correctly, but didn't do anything until around 70%. Now, the time in between during the story was more like a month and a half, but I've seen stories end in coupling in less time than that-- couples who end up saying I love you after two weeks --so for me, this wasn't that bad. I was satisfied with the romance aspect, save for the fact that I wouldn't really market this as a romantasy as it ends in an ambiguous, everything is up in the air happy for now, and the romance, well, I won't spoil what it's like by the end. Definitely makes me feel like a sequel is coming. 
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