30something_reads's Reviews (820)

 

I read this via audio and at about the 25% mark, I paused and immediately went online to purchase a physical copy.

Angela Davis is timeless. This book was written 8 years ago but is still relevant to this day (especially when critiquing the current administrations actions and words this week.)

A few notable highlights that I was able to catch via audio:

"The international community and the western media are always asking, as a precondition, that Palestinians stop the violence. How would you explain the popularity of the narrative that the oppressed have to ensure the safety of the oppressors?"

"I tell you that in the US we are at such a disadvantage because we do not know how to talk about the genocide inflicted on indigenous people. We do not know how to talk about slavery. Otherwise it would not have been assumed that simply because of the election of one black man to the presidency that we would leap forward into a post racial era. We do not acknowledge that we all live on colonized land and in the meantime native Americans live in impoverished conditions on reservations…"

"We do not know how to talk about slavery except perhaps in a framework of victim and victimizer; one that continues to polarize and implicate."

"I'm trying to suggest that there are connections between the militarization of the police in the US. Which provides a different context for us to analyze the ongoing continuing proliferation of racist police violence and the continuous assault on people in occupied Palestine, the West Bank and especially Gaza…"

 

Overall, this was very cute. 

And while the external drama was interesting, I couldn't help but lose a little bit of interest because what I really wanted were more prolonged relationship fumblings between Susan and Olix. Those little sweet and embarrassing moments while they're working through their differences were what really made me smile.

I'll definitely be checking out more in this series though.

3.75⭐ 

Kathryn Moon just knows what the people want. And the people want our FMC to unexpectedly go into heat and find refuge in a "cozy house" full of lovable androids that 💥💥💥 her through her heat in exchange for various tech repairs. And then they all begin to fall in love.

This was exactly that... imagine A Lady of Rooksgrave Manor in space. But the FMC is the client and the monsters are all androids that society has deemed obsolete but turn out to be absolutely sweethearts to her when she's in need. Delightful.

3.5⭐

Again, we acknowledge the gender essentialism of it all and then we keep it moving.

Nalini Singh knows how to create an exciting world with a really dynamic storyline playing out in the background of the romance. 

I love Faith's character. Vaughn is tragic and just fine. I'm excited to continue on with some of the other characters we've met.  

3.5

I couldn't even tell you when I first read this book- somewhere in the ballpark of 2007-2011 so I had very vague memories of this story. It was so fun to reread. Nalini Singh created such an interesting and gritty urban fantasy setting for this paranormal romance. I love the set up and the different characters that come into play here.

The Psy are a race born and conditioned to cut out all emotion. The Changelings are shifters of various backgrounds that are far more in tune with nature and community. It's a fun and interesting blending of worlds.

I will have to constantly remind myself that this was written nearly 20 years ago and that some of the content may not have aged perfectly. Just go into it knowing there is a lot of gender essentialism. However, there are also some really interesting depictions of affection and intimacy within the Changeling pack community that feel fresh and kind of circumvent the traditional views of what are considered romantic interactions. So, it's a give and take.

I'll definitely continue picking away at this series. 

 "Isn't it more satisfying then, to see a happily ever after that has been fought for in the end?

😭😭😭 I'm fine. Just bawling my eyes out on a random Wednesday afternoon. Nothing to see here.

Fuck, this was so good.

This follows the story of two young actors cast as romantic leads in a queer movie. Logan Gray is Hollywood's bad boy—a talented but troubled actor who the public loves to hate. Mattie Cole is an up‑and‑coming golden boy, adored by all but plagued by insecurities. When buzz arises that they hate each other, they must enter a fake relationship in order to promote a positive spin for the movie. But of course, as they spend more time together and get to really know one another, things become a little more complicated.

Heartfelt and heartbreaking, this story deals with a lot of darker themes including: child abuse, SA, mentions of past SA on minors, homophobia, biphobia, suicidal ideations, substance abuse, & mental illness.

The audiobook is a full cast production that really lends itself to the specific formatting of the storytelling. Not only do we get a dual POV from our two main characters, but we also had perspectives from news outlets, social media posts, classified reports, and from one of the main characters memoir excerpts. That's just so unique and I adored it!

CWs: child abuse, SA, mentions of past SA on minors, homophobia, biphobia, suicidal ideations, substance abuse, depression, mental illness, sexual content, racial stereotyping, colorism 

Yeah.... DNF at 27%

Idk, I never read Icebreaker but I know it was a tiktok darling. Maybe this is just a case of Hannah Grace not being for me.

Look, we all have daddy/mommy issues but the way we are discussing this with these characters is just so heavy handed and it's distracting. 

Kudos to a man who likes to eat 😺 though. 

 “You’ve come into my life like a beam of very annoying sunshine. You talk so much that I miss it when you’re not. You try to fix things I didn’t even realize were broken. You have a dreadful sense of humour to which I’ve somehow become habituated. You care about people so effortlessly it makes me able to put up with them. And then you kissed me and now I…” He lets his head slip further down into his hands. “… I don’t know how I’m supposed to go the rest of my life without being kissed by you again.”

First and foremost, I absolutely LOVED this audiobook. 100% recommend this format. The narrator was perfect and just nailed the depth of emotions throughout. I couldfeel the affection that these characters developed for one another and it had me giddy. I could not stop listening.

The story itself was very sweet and often had me laughing out loud. Sam is such a funny character to follow as he navigates this convoluted amnesia plan in order to save his employees (and himself) from being fired. That plan is basically to endear himself to his dickish boss, Jonathan Forest, while he is living with him during the duration of his "recovery."

I laughed (a lot). I also cried. There were surprising hurt/comfort dynamics and a load of Christmas antics that I did not anticipate but absolutely loved. Also, there is an incredible cat named Gollum.

I also understand that this is a spin-off from the London Calling series (Jonathan is a side character/ old school friend of one of the main characters in those books.) I have not read those books and did not have any issues with reading this one- so if you think you need to read those in order to enjoy this, I am here to say you do not. (That being said, I fully intend to read Boyfriend Material and Husband Material one day.)

*Thank you to NetGalley and Libro.fm for the advanced copies of this book.*