30something_reads's Reviews (820)

If there's one thing about Elizabeth Stephens... she's going to write absolutely feral spice that makes you go, "Oh my." I love that for her. 

There were some things that took me out of this one- namely the hot and cold dynamics of Echo and Adam's relationship. They just went back and forth from "I like you" to "No I hate you" too many times for me and it was just emotional whiplash. I would have rather they had a more consistent slow burn progression.

But overall, this is an interesting start to her new series. Based on what I know, I'll definitely be reading the next one.

The real winners here were Bombay and Isabel. Honestly, good for them.

Honestly, this was a fever-dream (in the best way possible.)

A hallucinogenic and fantastical rendering of Mexican colonial history.  

I found that I best enjoyed this as a tandem read with the audiobook. It was very interesting to see the exclusion of quotation marks throughout the entire book but the narrator provided such great differentiation between characters during the dialogue.

 What a perfectly weird collection of short stories by Bora Chung! This is a great blend of Sci Fi and Horror while also having a very distinct sense of humor that I really vibed with. Some of these stories were amazing and some of them were just fine. But overall, I really enjoyed this collection. 

My top 3 favorites include:
1. The End of the Voyage - Had me on the edge of my seat the entire time. I don't know if a short story has ever grabbed my attention quite like this one. Even though I did predict the outcome, I still loved the horrifying and thrilling journey to get there.
 2. A Very Ordinary Marriage - Another absolutely weird and compelling story. While not as graphic as the previous story, there was a subtle horror simmering beneath the tale that I really enjoyed.
 3. Seed - Strange and creepy and it gave me a similar feel as Annihilation.

I haven't read Cursed Bunny yet but it seems to be the preferred collection of stories by Chung so I am excited to get to it ASAP.

 Death had come to inhabit my body. It was a possession, not a visit. 

I'm still trying to figure out my full feelings about the ending but overall, this was gorgeous. The narrative structure was really compelling- I could not stop reading!
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A sweeping journey from the Old World to modern day Buenos Aires, this story is told in two parts from two very different women. 

The first half of the narrative is told through the eyes of a centuries old vampire as we follow her journey from her violent conception and across the world to Buenos Aires for a new beginning. 

The second half is told through the eyes of a modern day woman in Buenos Aires as she navigates her career, motherhood, and the inevitable loss of her own mother to a terminal illness. 

Two seemingly unconnected stories slowly begin to intertwine in a haunting, obsessive tale about grief, female agency, and desire.
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All of the dark, gothic, sapphic vampire vibes that I was hoping to get out of AEoM- I got them here. 

Viano never fails when it comes to finding the perfect balance of sweet and spicy. I adored Jack and Michael- childhood friends to forbidden lovers and make it with a guardian angle/their charge?? I love it!!

I would have gladly read 200 more pages of this story- in fact, I wanted to know more about the rebel Fallen angels! That seems like a very promising concept and storyline for a full-length book.

What can I say? I love a weird, queer, anti-corporate multiverse adventure. 

Absolute chaos.

100% shenanigans. 

Everyone is super horny and aparenlty unfazed by the presence of a corpse. Which, I mean, good for them. George was a real dick.

I can't wait to get into more of Lynsay Sand's work. 

Lesson learned: never take the valet and the butler for granted.

What I love about Beverly Jenkins is how she weaves in all of this interesting history into her romances. It's so clear how deeply she researched the time periods and locations her books take place.

BUT I am humbly requesting more swashbuckling when it comes to books with a pirate MC. I don't think that's too much to ask.

As fun as their meeting and then reuniting was, I feel like we lost a lot of potential with Pilar's Cuban revolutionary/pirate background. This only time her being a badass pirate really has any weight is in their initial meeting when she steals Noah's ship. And then all of that badassery falls to the wayside.

So I liked this but I didn't LOVE this. 

My journey for a pirate historical romance to LOVE still continues. 

Look, at first I was like "No, it's too silly. I won't be continuing this,' and YET!! I didn't stop reading. In fact, I started to kind of like it. 

(It was still pretty silly though. I had to not think to hard about it.)

And how dare this author have that little cliff hanger ending?? I will be reading the second one, thank you.