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abinthebooks
I was really excited to read Stars in Your Eyes, because the premise alone sounded absolutely fantastic, and it’s a Taylor Swift lyric (Dorothea <3). This book is really hard for me to rate. I can’t really pinpoint what I overly disliked about it. I really liked this authors writing, and I found the two main characters of this story, Logan and Mattie compelling, but I think everything for me kind of fell apart in the third act (which, yes, does involve a breakup). The third act also has a very weird time jump, which includes major character development off-page? It kind of felt like everything I read wasn’t even worth it in the end.
But I still feel kind of iffy about my rating. On one hand Stars in Your Eyes had some very good conversations about racism, Hollywood + the acting industry, and queer relationships and representation. This book doesn’t lie in it’s triggering warning at the beginning; it’s very very heavy and deals with toxic and abusive parental relationships, rape, and depression. And Logan is a character who very heavily deals with these things. Logan was a very frustrating character to read, which was the intent of the author. He’s very self destructive, and I hated how his development was done off page. We didn’t really get any on page development, wish you just so desperately wish for throughout the book.
It’s the same thing with Mattie’s character. He’s struggling a lot with himself, and his relationship with his father, and I was so ready to see him become the best version of himself in the third act. And he did…off page. I just really think it was that third act breakup that is tripping me up. The rest of this story was really fucking good; the plot, the writing, the relationship between Mattie and Logan. I just think this book could have been edited better—cutting out pages and completing changing the ending.
I didn’t hate Stars in Your Eyes, I just really can’t decide what I liked and didn’t like. I definitely think this story needed more editing and revision, and I just really wish the third act was cleaner. But if you’re someone who really likes to read books about the “behind the scenes” stuff inside Hollywood, I definitely think this book is for you. Just beware that this book doesn’t lie in its triggering warnings. Despite giving this three stars, there are still many things I want to read from Kacen Callender, and I’m really excited to. Unfortunately this one wasn’t for me as I hoped it would be.
3 to 3.5 stars
* * *
THIS SOUNDS SO GOOD
But I still feel kind of iffy about my rating. On one hand Stars in Your Eyes had some very good conversations about racism, Hollywood + the acting industry, and queer relationships and representation. This book doesn’t lie in it’s triggering warning at the beginning; it’s very very heavy and deals with toxic and abusive parental relationships, rape, and depression. And Logan is a character who very heavily deals with these things. Logan was a very frustrating character to read, which was the intent of the author. He’s very self destructive, and I hated how his development was done off page. We didn’t really get any on page development, wish you just so desperately wish for throughout the book.
It’s the same thing with Mattie’s character. He’s struggling a lot with himself, and his relationship with his father, and I was so ready to see him become the best version of himself in the third act. And he did…off page. I just really think it was that third act breakup that is tripping me up. The rest of this story was really fucking good; the plot, the writing, the relationship between Mattie and Logan. I just think this book could have been edited better—cutting out pages and completing changing the ending.
I didn’t hate Stars in Your Eyes, I just really can’t decide what I liked and didn’t like. I definitely think this story needed more editing and revision, and I just really wish the third act was cleaner. But if you’re someone who really likes to read books about the “behind the scenes” stuff inside Hollywood, I definitely think this book is for you. Just beware that this book doesn’t lie in its triggering warnings. Despite giving this three stars, there are still many things I want to read from Kacen Callender, and I’m really excited to. Unfortunately this one wasn’t for me as I hoped it would be.
3 to 3.5 stars
* * *
THIS SOUNDS SO GOOD
DNF AT 49%
I got this for free on kindle at some point, and after reading half this book, I have no interest in reading the rest. This felt very mediocre, both in writing, and plot, and I have no desire to read on.
I got this for free on kindle at some point, and after reading half this book, I have no interest in reading the rest. This felt very mediocre, both in writing, and plot, and I have no desire to read on.
Abi Reads Gilmore Girls: Episode 1
"A man can be destroyed but not defeated. Now is no time to think of what you do not have. Let him think that I am more man than I am and I will be so.”
It’s a known fact on this account that I’ve been in love with Jess Mariano, a character from the early 2000s show, Gilmore Girls, for many many years. And, coincidentally (it’s not a coincidence, I actually started reading this book for a fictional man. I have issues), Ernest Hemingway is one of Jess’ favorite authors. So, when I saw this lovely book at a used bookstore, Jess Mariano was absolutely on my mind.
And after buying this book, I had the brilliant idea to start (slowly) reading all of the books featured in Gilmore Girls. So, here we are with Episode 1 of: Abi Reads Gilmore Girls. And to tell you I am a little shocked I enjoyed The Old Man & the Sea, is a bit of an understatement. Let’s just say, reading Hemingway and enjoying him was not on my 2023 bingo card but here we are.
But I really did enjoy this story. This book was so beautiful, so bittersweet, and so very lovely. The writing itself is so simple and repetitive, yet this story was so deep in its complexity. I really did love this by the end. The beginning was a little bit of slog, but once you really get into Hemingway’s writing and the intent of what he’s trying to say, you really start to see his genius. On the surface (ocean jokes, so funny), this is absolutely the most simple a story can get. But because this story is so simple, it makes it one of the most complex I’ve ever read.
I don’t know if anything I’ve said makes sense. I just really liked the way Hemingway wanted to convey his message, and he did it so fucking flawlessly. I’ve always perceived this author as “boring”, mainly from the many poems I’ve had to dissect of his, but when reading between his lines, Hemingway is the farthest from it. So, thank you Gilmore Girls (Jess Mariano, I’m looking at u) for making me finally read some of the lovely Ernest Hemingway.
Let me know what Gilmore Girls book I should read next, I have hundreds of options.
"A man can be destroyed but not defeated. Now is no time to think of what you do not have. Let him think that I am more man than I am and I will be so.”
It’s a known fact on this account that I’ve been in love with Jess Mariano, a character from the early 2000s show, Gilmore Girls, for many many years. And, coincidentally (it’s not a coincidence, I actually started reading this book for a fictional man. I have issues), Ernest Hemingway is one of Jess’ favorite authors. So, when I saw this lovely book at a used bookstore, Jess Mariano was absolutely on my mind.
And after buying this book, I had the brilliant idea to start (slowly) reading all of the books featured in Gilmore Girls. So, here we are with Episode 1 of: Abi Reads Gilmore Girls. And to tell you I am a little shocked I enjoyed The Old Man & the Sea, is a bit of an understatement. Let’s just say, reading Hemingway and enjoying him was not on my 2023 bingo card but here we are.
But I really did enjoy this story. This book was so beautiful, so bittersweet, and so very lovely. The writing itself is so simple and repetitive, yet this story was so deep in its complexity. I really did love this by the end. The beginning was a little bit of slog, but once you really get into Hemingway’s writing and the intent of what he’s trying to say, you really start to see his genius. On the surface (ocean jokes, so funny), this is absolutely the most simple a story can get. But because this story is so simple, it makes it one of the most complex I’ve ever read.
I don’t know if anything I’ve said makes sense. I just really liked the way Hemingway wanted to convey his message, and he did it so fucking flawlessly. I’ve always perceived this author as “boring”, mainly from the many poems I’ve had to dissect of his, but when reading between his lines, Hemingway is the farthest from it. So, thank you Gilmore Girls (Jess Mariano, I’m looking at u) for making me finally read some of the lovely Ernest Hemingway.
Let me know what Gilmore Girls book I should read next, I have hundreds of options.
*3.5
This was honestly so cute. It was very Hallmark-esk (and the book knows it too, it leans very into the Hallmark theme), with smut—awkward smut, but smut nonetheless—and a really sweet romance. I loved these characters, especially Marie, and I had such a fun time reading this. I just wish these characters had some better communication at the end. There isn’t really a third act break-up, but I definitely would have rated this higher had there been more communication between the MC’s. I also feel like this book loses its direction in the second half, and the pacing really falls off. Still really fun and cute though, definitely recommend.
This was honestly so cute. It was very Hallmark-esk (and the book knows it too, it leans very into the Hallmark theme), with smut—awkward smut, but smut nonetheless—and a really sweet romance. I loved these characters, especially Marie, and I had such a fun time reading this. I just wish these characters had some better communication at the end. There isn’t really a third act break-up, but I definitely would have rated this higher had there been more communication between the MC’s. I also feel like this book loses its direction in the second half, and the pacing really falls off. Still really fun and cute though, definitely recommend.
*3.75
”When I’m with you Mallory, everything is different. When I’m with you, I want to play more than I want to win.”
Check & Mate is a hard book for me to rate. I really, really loved the first 2/3’s of this book, especially the first part where our heroine is getting back into chess. I also loved the hero in this story, Nolan Sawyer, who is the best chess player in the world. He was such a charming and sweet hero, and I was swooning every time he opened his damn mouth.
I think my two issues with this book however are #1 This is honestly just Gen Z (millennial coded) Queen’s Gambit fanfiction (there literally feels like exact copy and paste scenes from the show, and Beth and Benny cardboard cutouts) and #2 This book is written by Ali Hazelwood. Now, look, I don’t have anything against Ali Hazelwood as a person, but if you’ve read 2+ of her books, you probably know what I mean. She has very millennial, fanficy writing, with an unnecessary plethora of pop culture references (which range from Timotheé Chalamet, OnlyFans, Instagram and TikTok references OVER AND OVER again, Ed Sheeran (what actual teenage girl liked Ed Sheeran? None), Mean Girls “she doesn’t even go here” reference, erotica Bill Nye fanfiction, AO3, Harry Styles, Tumblr, Cole Sprouse (once again I say, what modern day teenage girl actually LIKES Cole Sprouse???), BTS, and so so so many more), and NPC YouTube Shorts humor.
The writing itself is just cringe, especially because you can tell she is trying to stay ”hip” and current and it’s just not done well. And, yes, Ali, no matter how many books you publish, we can still tell these are Reylo fanfictions no matter what character names you change or AU you come up with. And you’re probably like, Abi, why would you read it if you don’t like this author’s writing? This author has 3 published novels previous to this one, and 3 published novellas. I thought she’d change up her writing style since her debut novel, The Love Hypothesis. Unfortunately that was not the case…
Anyways, that’s why this book is so hard for my to rate. Because I really enjoyed some aspects (and I genuinely considered giving this book 5 stars in the first half), and hated Ali Hazelwood’s formula /: But for a YA book, I thought this was really cute for the most part, just not the most amazing thing I’ve read.
Additional Note: I adored this audiobook narrator, listen to this book if u can!!!
3.75 stars
* * *
My chess loving heart just about died!!!!I was like “oh my god a chess rom-com???!!” and then I read the description and he’s the “bad boy” of chess
”When I’m with you Mallory, everything is different. When I’m with you, I want to play more than I want to win.”
Check & Mate is a hard book for me to rate. I really, really loved the first 2/3’s of this book, especially the first part where our heroine is getting back into chess. I also loved the hero in this story, Nolan Sawyer, who is the best chess player in the world. He was such a charming and sweet hero, and I was swooning every time he opened his damn mouth.
I think my two issues with this book however are #1 This is honestly just Gen Z (millennial coded) Queen’s Gambit fanfiction (there literally feels like exact copy and paste scenes from the show, and Beth and Benny cardboard cutouts) and #2 This book is written by Ali Hazelwood. Now, look, I don’t have anything against Ali Hazelwood as a person, but if you’ve read 2+ of her books, you probably know what I mean. She has very millennial, fanficy writing, with an unnecessary plethora of pop culture references (which range from Timotheé Chalamet, OnlyFans, Instagram and TikTok references OVER AND OVER again, Ed Sheeran (what actual teenage girl liked Ed Sheeran? None), Mean Girls “she doesn’t even go here” reference, erotica Bill Nye fanfiction, AO3, Harry Styles, Tumblr, Cole Sprouse (once again I say, what modern day teenage girl actually LIKES Cole Sprouse???), BTS, and so so so many more), and NPC YouTube Shorts humor.
The writing itself is just cringe, especially because you can tell she is trying to stay ”hip” and current and it’s just not done well. And, yes, Ali, no matter how many books you publish, we can still tell these are Reylo fanfictions no matter what character names you change or AU you come up with. And you’re probably like, Abi, why would you read it if you don’t like this author’s writing? This author has 3 published novels previous to this one, and 3 published novellas. I thought she’d change up her writing style since her debut novel, The Love Hypothesis. Unfortunately that was not the case…
Anyways, that’s why this book is so hard for my to rate. Because I really enjoyed some aspects (and I genuinely considered giving this book 5 stars in the first half), and hated Ali Hazelwood’s formula /: But for a YA book, I thought this was really cute for the most part, just not the most amazing thing I’ve read.
Additional Note: I adored this audiobook narrator, listen to this book if u can!!!
3.75 stars
* * *
My chess loving heart just about died!!!!I was like “oh my god a chess rom-com???!!” and then I read the description and he’s the “bad boy” of chess
Annoying main FMC, douchey MMC, boring and overdone family drama plot, “evil” brother + sister-in-law plot, and I was literally lied to with the corgi on the cover bc the MMC doesn’t even have a dog! Also, this couple does not communicate at all, and it was so fucking annoying. By the end of this I was even skimming the smut scenes, and you know the book is bad or boring when that happens.
Overall, simple writing, mediocre and common plot, very uncompelling relationship. Sucks bc this was one of my most anticipated releases of the year. Oh well /:
Overall, simple writing, mediocre and common plot, very uncompelling relationship. Sucks bc this was one of my most anticipated releases of the year. Oh well /:
I have a lot of thoughts about this one. I absolutely adored Mexican Gothic when I read it earlier this year. And one of the best things about that book was the writing. And I still think that’s very prevalent in Silver Nitrate as well. The characters were also strong, just like in Mexican Gothic, and I think that’s where the similarities end (not a critique, just an observation).
This book has a really strong premise and start. Our two main characters, Tristán and Montserrat, are messy, chaotic bisexuals, who both respectively work in the film industry during the 90s in Mexico. Their relationship was so complex, and really got me to care about these two, respectively. You can also tell Silvia Moreno-Garcia is very passionate about old films, specifically old films from her culture. And that first half of the story really does shine through to me as a reader.
However, once we get into the actual premise of Silver Nitrate in the second half, my enjoy did begin to decline. This book is marketed as horror, and it’s one of those types of horror that focuses on the real life aspects of horrifying things (or at least tries to). Silver Nitrate goes into Nazism and Occultism, but not in a very satisfying or new way to me. It was very surface level. ”Ok, this man is a Nazi. He is bad. He is charming. Now he has a cult. He has all these followers for some reason, even though he’s a Nazi.” I kept questioning if I missed something detrimental while listening? But I don’t think I did, I just think that’s how the book was written.
In saying that, I really think this books faults lies in the way it was marketed. Because by the end of Silver Nitrate the horror aspects are more just a historical fiction-fantasy plot, not really horror. Sure, there is a mystery (albeit a slow one), but the fact is, the real-life horrors are overshadowed by the overwhelming amount of fantasy/magical realism and historical fiction elements.
Despite my complaints, I think Silvia Moreno-Garcia is an absolute treasure of a writer (and I’ve only read 2 of her books in her mighty backlist). Her ideas are so thought provoking, and as I said above, you can tell she’s so passionate and well informed about the things that interest her. And I love how she always adds her culture to her books. It really adds the extra layers and depth to her characters and their stories. I also did love this audiobook, which I think brought my enjoyment up a little more. This narrator was flawless with these two characters, and really brought the charm of this story to life.
So overall, was Silver Nitrate perfect? No, not all. Did it tackle its topics in the best way possible? Not really, no. But was it still incredibly well written, and entertaining nonetheless? Yes, yes it was. I’m so excited to dive deeper into Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s backlist. Let me know what y’all recommend I read from her next.
4 stars
* * *
After Mexican Gothic, I know this is gonna be a banger.
This book has a really strong premise and start. Our two main characters, Tristán and Montserrat, are messy, chaotic bisexuals, who both respectively work in the film industry during the 90s in Mexico. Their relationship was so complex, and really got me to care about these two, respectively. You can also tell Silvia Moreno-Garcia is very passionate about old films, specifically old films from her culture. And that first half of the story really does shine through to me as a reader.
However, once we get into the actual premise of Silver Nitrate in the second half, my enjoy did begin to decline. This book is marketed as horror, and it’s one of those types of horror that focuses on the real life aspects of horrifying things (or at least tries to). Silver Nitrate goes into Nazism and Occultism, but not in a very satisfying or new way to me. It was very surface level. ”Ok, this man is a Nazi. He is bad. He is charming. Now he has a cult. He has all these followers for some reason, even though he’s a Nazi.” I kept questioning if I missed something detrimental while listening? But I don’t think I did, I just think that’s how the book was written.
In saying that, I really think this books faults lies in the way it was marketed. Because by the end of Silver Nitrate the horror aspects are more just a historical fiction-fantasy plot, not really horror. Sure, there is a mystery (albeit a slow one), but the fact is, the real-life horrors are overshadowed by the overwhelming amount of fantasy/magical realism and historical fiction elements.
Despite my complaints, I think Silvia Moreno-Garcia is an absolute treasure of a writer (and I’ve only read 2 of her books in her mighty backlist). Her ideas are so thought provoking, and as I said above, you can tell she’s so passionate and well informed about the things that interest her. And I love how she always adds her culture to her books. It really adds the extra layers and depth to her characters and their stories. I also did love this audiobook, which I think brought my enjoyment up a little more. This narrator was flawless with these two characters, and really brought the charm of this story to life.
So overall, was Silver Nitrate perfect? No, not all. Did it tackle its topics in the best way possible? Not really, no. But was it still incredibly well written, and entertaining nonetheless? Yes, yes it was. I’m so excited to dive deeper into Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s backlist. Let me know what y’all recommend I read from her next.
4 stars
* * *
After Mexican Gothic, I know this is gonna be a banger.
I adored Waking Olivia, which is another book by this author, and one of my favorite books of last year. I’ve been really excited to read more from Elizabeth O’Roark, but nervous to try this one because of some of the tropes mentioned. Do I usually like man-child, man-whore heroes who need the heroine to do all his shit for him? No. Do I usually like billionaire romances in general? No. But for some reason this book charmed the hell out of me, and I adored every second of it. I loved the romance, and the character development for the two main characters, and the banter was absolutely fantastic. This book actually had me grinning, giggling, squealing, kicking my feet, and sobbing my eyes out. Was it basic? Yeah. But I can’t deny that this had me in love the entire time I was reading.
5 stars
5 stars
DNF @ PG. 114
I’ve been wanting to read this forever, and I absolutely hated the writing. It was like every other paragraph we got info-dump after info-dump. With the very little dialogue in here came a break. The breaks included half of paragraph of inner monologue, more info dumping, or mindless descriptions. Along with the writing, these characters weren’t compelling, nor had they any chemistry, and the world building was just info-dumping. I just can’t do it anywhere. Even after trying the audiobook to see if it was just me I couldn’t do it.
And I honestly don’t know if I didn’t like this because of me or just the book itself. I haven’t read YA fantasy in literal months (unfortunately, I think I’m outgrowing it a lot just due to me getting older and reading more complex fantasy), so maybe it’s my personal tastes clouding a really good book? Or maybe it really is just bad. Whatever the reason, I unfortunately didn’t like Crier’s War at all, and I’m really sad about it.
Reading every book on my physical TBR: 77/360
I’ve been wanting to read this forever, and I absolutely hated the writing. It was like every other paragraph we got info-dump after info-dump. With the very little dialogue in here came a break. The breaks included half of paragraph of inner monologue, more info dumping, or mindless descriptions. Along with the writing, these characters weren’t compelling, nor had they any chemistry, and the world building was just info-dumping. I just can’t do it anywhere. Even after trying the audiobook to see if it was just me I couldn’t do it.
And I honestly don’t know if I didn’t like this because of me or just the book itself. I haven’t read YA fantasy in literal months (unfortunately, I think I’m outgrowing it a lot just due to me getting older and reading more complex fantasy), so maybe it’s my personal tastes clouding a really good book? Or maybe it really is just bad. Whatever the reason, I unfortunately didn’t like Crier’s War at all, and I’m really sad about it.
Reading every book on my physical TBR: 77/360
DNF AT 37%
I honest to god cannot believe this book was published in the year of our lord and savior, 2023 (and babes, I’m not even religious…). Because if I just picked this book up today without knowing anything about it, I would have confidently said ”Yes, this book was published in 2012-2014” with absolutely no hesitation. And I think in some ways that’s what the authors intent was, but it’s just not something that I think really can compete with much better modern YA fantasy.
I’ve been following Lauren Roberts from the very beginning of her writing journey; down from the first video she posted about the idea she got for this book, to the time she self-published, then when she got picked up by a larger publishing house, and even her current stuff I try to watch every now and then. So I was really excited to read this book, especially since Lauren did say this book has Hunger Games vibes (as well as Red Queen, but that’s one of my least favorite books ever so, ya know…). But I think there comes a point between being inspired by things, and just blatantly plagiarizing/ripping off something.
That’s what the entire dystopian era of publishing was; ripping off The Hunger Games in some non-inventive way. And that’s really just what this book unfortunately was. A rip off of two very popular books from the dystopian era. Powerless had absolutely nothing new to add to the YA fantasy genre. The magic system was stolen from Red Queen, the plot was stolen from The Hunger Games, and yes, there was even a love triangle. A love triangle in once again I say, the year of our lord and savior, 2023.
If I had read this at the peak of my dystopian faze (when I was fifth and sixth grade) yes, this would have been a new favorite for me. But I just couldn’t read this story again. I’ve read it enough times, and I knew this wouldn’t bring anything new to the table. Combined with mediocre writing, cringe dialogue and romance, and an angsty edgelord male love interest who’s just a white version of Nasir from We Hunt the Flame, I honestly just can’t be bothered.
And to all of you who wonder why I can’t have fun reading bad books, I don’t know guys. I tried really hard to just like this despite it being bad, but I really couldn’t. I think this book has finally proven to me that Booktok books are just not going to be for me, and I should probably stop trying the lot of them.
I honest to god cannot believe this book was published in the year of our lord and savior, 2023 (and babes, I’m not even religious…). Because if I just picked this book up today without knowing anything about it, I would have confidently said ”Yes, this book was published in 2012-2014” with absolutely no hesitation. And I think in some ways that’s what the authors intent was, but it’s just not something that I think really can compete with much better modern YA fantasy.
I’ve been following Lauren Roberts from the very beginning of her writing journey; down from the first video she posted about the idea she got for this book, to the time she self-published, then when she got picked up by a larger publishing house, and even her current stuff I try to watch every now and then. So I was really excited to read this book, especially since Lauren did say this book has Hunger Games vibes (as well as Red Queen, but that’s one of my least favorite books ever so, ya know…). But I think there comes a point between being inspired by things, and just blatantly plagiarizing/ripping off something.
That’s what the entire dystopian era of publishing was; ripping off The Hunger Games in some non-inventive way. And that’s really just what this book unfortunately was. A rip off of two very popular books from the dystopian era. Powerless had absolutely nothing new to add to the YA fantasy genre. The magic system was stolen from Red Queen, the plot was stolen from The Hunger Games, and yes, there was even a love triangle. A love triangle in once again I say, the year of our lord and savior, 2023.
If I had read this at the peak of my dystopian faze (when I was fifth and sixth grade) yes, this would have been a new favorite for me. But I just couldn’t read this story again. I’ve read it enough times, and I knew this wouldn’t bring anything new to the table. Combined with mediocre writing, cringe dialogue and romance, and an angsty edgelord male love interest who’s just a white version of Nasir from We Hunt the Flame, I honestly just can’t be bothered.
And to all of you who wonder why I can’t have fun reading bad books, I don’t know guys. I tried really hard to just like this despite it being bad, but I really couldn’t. I think this book has finally proven to me that Booktok books are just not going to be for me, and I should probably stop trying the lot of them.