This was short and sweet. It beautifully portrayed the homosexuality and make the children understand the value of family. The illustrations were beautiful and the little conversational poetry among the children was cute.

Thanks to NetGalley and VanitaBooks for providing this arc

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Tiffany Sly Lives Here Now is an intense read and is full of complex emotions. The main theme of this book was family, and oh boy, I loved it so much. While reading this book I felt so many emotions at once. For a few pages, I was happy and then for others, I was sad. For some other pages I was furious and then again I was happy. It was a full circle going on and I think I haven’t felt a rush of so many emotions at once while reading a book.

This story is about Tiffany Sly who is going to live with her father, Anthony, whose existence was unknown to her until the death of her mother. When she arrives at his home, she suddenly realized that her world is not just her anymore. She had no idea that she has four siblings. This was a huge deal for her as she was not ready to tackle this whole new world. On the other hand, another man claimed to be her father and gave her seven days to prove that he is her father by matching DNA. These seven days were emotionally straining for Tiffany as she hadn’t known anymore what is the truth.

I absolutely loved Tiffany. She was quiet and polite. She had anxiety and OCD and I was perfectly able to relate that. I have never suffered from anxiety, but well, sometimes I find myself over-stressed. So one way or another, it was like I was in her head. For a person who has just lost her mother, it was very difficult to adjust in a new family and that too with so many people. But Tiffany was nice and kind-hearted and she tries her best to adjust in that family and behave as if she is a part of that family. She liked her new sisters and her step-mother.

But I hated her dad, Anthony! I hated him so much. He was so strict and was actually blind because of his Jehovah beliefs. He was too strict for his children. He had set specific rules for all of his children and tries to impose the same rules on Tiffany too. He is super rich and all, but has no time for his family. He believes that he is a good father but in the real, he was a controlling and abusive one. He hadn’t even spared her 2 years old daughter, who was actually autistic! It really made me furious.

I liked side characters very much. All the three step-sisters of Tiffany were quite good. London didn’t like her in the beginning and it was really nice to see the transformation in their relationship. Also, I loved Tiffany’s step-mother, though I doubted in the starting that she was being good only because of Anthony. But I was really happy to see how she opens herself in front of Tiffany.

Then there was Marcus. I am so so happy that there was no romance. Seriously. It was a great friendship rep and I enjoyed how their friendship evolved over the time. Marcus was Tiffany’s neighbor. He was a black boy and used to paint his face white. This was really weird and the whole reason behind this was weird too. Also, he was way more philosophical according to his age. I had some hard time reading a few pages where he was demonstrating Tiffany about all the energy transformation, meditation, and stuff. Those pages were hard for me to understand, but despite that I liked Marcus. He was adorable.

About that autism rep, I don’t think that it was necessary for the book and it would have affected the story in any way if it wasn’t there. I guess it was only there to show that how horrible Anthony was and how he had no role in raising that autistic daughter and it was his wife who was struggling daily with her. I felt really bad about the way Anthony treated her. Even that 2 years old autistic child was not free from his sick rules book 🙁

This book has a huge portion based on religion and beliefs, that too of Jehovah Witnesses. Honestly, I had no idea what Jehovah witnesses were but this book made me not want to search for them. I felt that their belief system is so restricted. Also, I am not a kind of spiritual or philosophical reader, so this topic was not of my interest.

As I said earlier, the main overall theme of this book was family. I believe that a family is something which is very important for a person. It is our family which makes us how we are. The family is an important part of being. Tiffany believed that her mother had her by the sperm donation. But when she knows about the existence of her father, she was shaking. She was nervous but at the same time she happy because of the prospect of meeting and knowing her father. When she found out about her step-sisters and step-mother, she tried to adjust in that family.

This book was also about how the parents raise their children. I don’t believe in the strict guidelines and rules that Anthony imposed on his children. Because of Jehovah views or whatever, those rules only push the children to do what is restricted and London ends up doing one of those things. I really like how [a:Dana L. Davis|16148438|Dana L. Davis|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1507491523p2/16148438.jpg] has raised this topic.

Though this is the debut book of [a:Dana L. Davis|16148438|Dana L. Davis|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1507491523p2/16148438.jpg], I absolutely loved her writing. It was really a fast read and I never felt bored. The anxiety representation of Tiffany was so well done, that I was able to connect with her. Because of this wonderful writing, she was able to pull-off multiple themes in this single book and yet, they didn’t seem to fall apart. It was like a whole big theme. Also, I really like how she kept the subplot of another guy being a probable dad, till the end. That mystery was done really well but at the same time, it doesn’t divert the readers from the main plot.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this book to every book lover, whether you like YA or not. This is such an important read. With all the diversity and #ownvoices rep, this is something you should add to your TBR for sure. Tiffany is a great character with whom you would be able to relate emotionally. I rooted for Marcus. I hated Anthony. Basically, I felt exactly the way the author wanted to 🙂 This book has a good story, well-implemented characters and great voice representation and this book definitely needs more audience!

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Guys! This book was so amazing I can’t even! It was brilliant. I haven’t read many fantasy books (in fact I haven’t read many books, lol) but this was like straight from a movie. If you have watched and loved Pirates of Carribean, then it’s for sure that you would love this book. It has Pirates, sirens, mermaids, mermen, kings & queens, kingdoms. What else do you need for a perfect story? 😀

Lira is a deadly siren princess who has a ruthless mother known as the Sea Queen. Lira is known as Princes’ Bane. Her mother teaches her to gain the power of kingdoms by stealing the heart of princes of those kingdoms. Lira is seventeen and she has seventeen hearts buried in her possession. When she kills the eighteenth prince one month before her actual birthday, the Sea Queen was enraged and punished her by transforming her into a human and giving him an impossible task of bringing the heart of Prince Elian.

Prince Elian is the heir to the throne of Midas, the gold city, but he didn’t enjoy living that life. Instead, he lives like a pirate and is a siren killer. When he saves Lira from drowning in the middle of the sea, he didn’t suspect that she is a siren. Elian agreed to let Lira live on his ship because she confirmed that she has a crucial information about the Crystal of Keto, which is the only thing that can kill the Sea Queen. But can Elian really trust a siren? What will happen when he and his crew would find out the real identity of Lira?

The world-building was amazing. From the first page itself, the story would keep you hooked and it flows so smoothly that you would find yourself totally immersed in it. The story unfolds naturally. And [a:Alexandra Christo|14684499|Alexandra Christo|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1520622199p2/14684499.jpg]'s writing is so strong and wonderful that you won’t feel anything lacking. She has perfectly described all the kingdoms mentioned in the story and all the fight scenes perfectly. The descriptions are in a way that it doesn’t feel over the top. It is in the exact amount needed for the story and thus, in turn, makes it more enjoyable.

The story has dual POVs. It switches between Lira and Elian which makes the overall premise more interesting as it helps us to understand both the characters in a better way. While the story progresses, it was enjoyable to see how slowly their opinions of each other changed with the time.

Lira and Elian definitely have become one of my favourite OTP. Their romance was SLOW-BURN. Now, who doesn’t like a slow-burn romance? They are just perfect. Lira and Elian started as enemies who hated each other in the beginning and never trusted each other. Even Elian’s crew hated Lira. I enjoyed whenever Lira was threatening Elian (as Elian didn’t know her real identity) as those scenes were hilarious. When they were bickering each other, they were even more adorable.

This book was full of side characters. You would love each of them. Elian’s crew is wonderful. Kye is like Elian’s bodyguard. He is always protective towards Elian. My favourite was, however, Madrid. You’ll definitely love her. She is a strong representation of #GirlPower. She was welcoming of Lira from the beginning. She wanted more girls in her squad, so when Lira appears, she was friendly and supportive to her in spite of Kye hating Lira. The Sea Queen was truly dangerous. She had tentacles and a powerful trident. She treated her daughter like mere nothing. She had no love for her daughter and she confirmed this when she transformed her daughter to a human. She just wanted more power regardless of who and who brings it to her.

This story has the perfect ending. The fight scenes, in the end, were perfect and I was feeling as if I was watching a movie throughout. I had a few questions throughout the story but I loved how all of it was nicely packed towards the end. There were no questions unanswered, yet it left me wanting to read a sequel because it was so AMAZING!

Overall, this book was amazing and it left me for wanting a sequel. Everything about the story was incredible. [a:Alexandra Christo|14684499|Alexandra Christo|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1520622199p2/14684499.jpg] has created a wonderful and powerful world great storyline and lovely characters. Lira and Elian are definitely my new OTP. If you love a good fantasy book, then definitely read this.

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“What is the point of cheating death if a life doesn’t exist when you wake up?”

Could you imagine your life where you don’t remember anything anymore? Waking up with amnesia and not able to decide what to feel- fear, confusion, panic, frustration? Feeling alone? I certainly can’t imagine myself being in that situation and this was exactly what attracted me towards this book. I knew from the beginning that this I would end up loving this, and I am glad I was not disappointed 🙂

This story is about Clementine Hass who is the sole survivor of a plane crash and wakes up in a hospital with retrograde amnesia. She found herself overwhelmed with all the strangeness around her so she runs away with a stranger (Kieran) to his house in a small village and decides to live there until she remembers her past life. She chooses a new name, Jane, and a new life for her, but soon she realized that she is not going to remember anything soon and that she is being accustomed to being Jane.

WHAT I LIKED
1. I loved the main character, Clementine. She has been portrayed as a strong woman with a stable mind and determination to achieve something. She is not afraid of uncertainties. After a certain time, she realized that she is nowhere near to knowing about her past, but even in that situation, she was ready to build everything for herself from scratch.
2. I loved the overall theme of this story. This is a book about new beginnings. This is about moving on with uncertainties. Life won’t always give you a fair chance at everything. There are a few times where you have to just move on. You have to keep digging the new possibilities. [a:Rebekah Crane|6541896|Rebekah Crane|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1397483622p2/6541896.jpg] has done a wonderful job in depicting the overall theme.
3. I have found my new book boyfriend 😀 I LOVED Keiran! He was so adorable and cute. I liked how he was portrayed in the story along with Clementine. He was never shown as a bossy one or otherwise. He left her free to figure out her stuff and always made her comfortable. I like how he was shown as a person who liked to help everyone. But sometimes, Kieran was a complicated guy. While helping Jane, he was dealing with his own family crisis. He was trying to decide what he wanted to be, as his father had other hopes with him. And you know what is the cutest thing? He gave a nickname to Jane/Clementine – Bunny! Isn’t this adorable? 😍
4. The romance was slow-building and quite. In a way, perfect. I liked how it was not rushed. It took almost the end to build that perfect scene for the romance but it was worth it.
5. I really enjoyed the side characters, Siobhan and Clive, among others. I loved their contribution to the story and how they molded it.
6. I loved the setting of the book which was Ireland. [a:Rebekah Crane|6541896|Rebekah Crane|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1397483622p2/6541896.jpg] has perfectly described Ireland’s places and it made me want to visit that beautiful place right away 🙂
7. I loved all the dares that Keiran and Jane did in the story, as I want to do them myself someday?
8. I LOVED the ending. It was NOT AT ALL what I expected. The last 50 or so pages were too intense and I was quite on edge thinking what would happen next. I loved how everything was wrapped up nicely in the end.
9. The writing style of [a:Rebekah Crane|6541896|Rebekah Crane|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1397483622p2/6541896.jpg] was wonderful. It was kind of poetic which reminds with the writing of one of my favourite author [a:John Green|1406384|John Green|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1353452301p2/1406384.jpg]. One thing I appreciate most about his books are wonderful quotes and I can say, The Upside of Falling Down has plenty of them. The writing made this book a quick read and kept me hooked from first to the last page.

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE
1. Though I loved Clementine as a character, sometimes she was too nosy in other people lives and I didn’t like it particularly? I felt as if she overstepped her boundaries, a few times, considering she was a total stranger in someone else’s home.
2. I loved Siobhan and Clive as a pair and I really wanted to know more about them and their stories.

“There’s a moment bungee jumping, when you’re free – falling. The air actually feels thick. Almost like it’s keeping you afloat more than pushing you down. And you forget to be scared. You forget to be anything. You’re just… still and falling at the same time. At the end, when the bungee catches, you’re actually disappointed because it felt so good. It’s over too soon. It’s the upside of falling down. It’s why you jump in the first place… for that moment.”

FINAL THOUGHTS
Overall, this was a super cute, adorable and quick read about finding yourself and daring to accept the challenges. This is a great example of a perfect contemporary. This shows that it isn’t necessary to have a strong plot every time to make a story entertaining. You don’t need to have high romance and a perfect pair to make it swoon-worthy. Sometimes, just a simple story like this can also do the magic. I immensely enjoyed this book and thus I would highly recommend it.

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Actual rating: 3.5 stars

Wake Up, Girl! by [a:Niharika Jindal|18661341|Niharika Jindal|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] is a funny and heartfelt story about Indian society and their patriarchal thinking about arranged marriages and the 'right age' for the girls to get married. Really though, what is the right age to get married? In our society most of the communities start finding a good 'rishta' for their daughters as soon as they finish their studies. And even most of the girls aren't allowed to put their wishes forward.

This story is on a similar plot line about a girl named Naina and how after coming back from foreign, her life suddenly takes turn when her parents starts finding a perfect match for her.

This book is perfect for a light read and is fast-paced. It would definitely intrigue you if you like reading Bollywood style stories. This is a coming-of-age novel about coming out of the so-called society's rules and making your own path.

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Full review: Flipping Through the Pages

This story is about Chernyavsky family who had fled from Russia and had long-hidden secrets. They were being hunted for their powers but now their power has weakened as they suppress them to keep themselves safe. Ruby lives with her two sisters and has grown up being told this story. The Chernyavsky family is predominantly women, with men appearing only to a point to father a daughter. When the girls reach teens years, at some point they see their Time in which they can see themselves at the age they will die. Ruby has been told since her childhood that the Time can’t be changed or avoided. But when her great aunt Polina dies at 95 years old, it was revealed that her death doesn’t match with what was written as her Time in the family’s record book. Ruby, with her cousin Cece, then tries to find out how was that possible and how can she change her own or her cousin’s Time. But in doing so, she discovers that her family’s secrets are way deeper than what she always thought.

Ruby is not a character that could be remembered for a long time yet I found myself rooting for her. She was an angsty teenager who wanted to dig up family secrets so that she can save herself and her cousin. Ruby and Cece’s relationship was wonderful and they kept me invested in the story. Though it was not smooth all the time, I appreciate how they tried to be as closer as they can and how much they loved each other. Cece’s representation also brought queer rep to the story which I really appreciate. Ruby’s sisters, Dahlia and Ginger were good characters but I wish the sisters relationship was explored a bit more? It felt they were just there for filling the role of Ruby’s mother.

There were multiple side characters but my favourite was Dov, Ruby’s love interest. I appreciate how the author has incorporated trans character into the story through Dov. We need more trans rep in YA! Dov’s family, the Mahalels, later played a big part in the story but what I loved was his relationship with Ruby. The romance was not in our faces and I loved how beautifully it was incorporated. Both the families had big secrets and I enjoyed reading how their relationship grew over those secrets. Though the romance was quite good, this story is mainly about family, secrets that bind them together, the love between them and the things they can do to protect each other.

The idea of Chernyavsky magic and the Russian family folklore was incorporated beautifully into this book. I loved how the author has talked about the idea that words and stories passed down over time can be twisted to meet the needs of those telling them. This magical realism story kept me interested from page one and I was engrossed in the world of Russian fairy tales, hidden family secrets and a character who is trying to understand the difference between the stories and the reality.

Lot of things are good in the story but what didn’t work for me and for most of the readers, I guess, was the ending. My kindle was showing I am at 80% but then I flipped the next page, boom.. story ends. That made me feel betrayed. I wasn’t ready for the story to finish on such a loose end. I generally don’t mind when authors leave a story with open end, but I felt, the ending of this story was abrupt and I certainly don’t like abrupt ending. This story needed an additional 50/100 pages to give us all the answers. There is no sequel to the story and that being said, the ending was a huge turndown for me which made me to instantly lower my rating, which otherwise would have been a 5 star read.

Overall, I truly enjoyed reading The Wise and the Wicked. If it wasn’t for that abrupt ending, this book would have been one of my favourites of the year. The story is really interesting. It is well written and queer representations are lovely. The mystery element keeps you hooked till the end. I would definitely ask you to pick it up if you like Russian folklore and magic realism.

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When I read The Poet X last year, I instantly fell in love with not only Xiomara but Elizabeth‘s writing and that book instantly became one of my favourites. When I heard about her new book, it was easily one of my most anticipated reads of 2019 and I am so lucky to read an ARC of this book. And once again, Elizabeth won my heart with her writing, story and characters. And look at that cover! Isn’t it gorgeous?

“𝑰’𝒗𝒆 𝒂𝒍𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒔𝒎𝒂𝒍𝒍: 𝒑𝒉𝒚𝒔𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒑𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒕𝒆, 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒉 𝒎𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒂 𝒔𝒎𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚, 𝒕𝒐𝒐. 𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒏, 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒐𝒇 𝒂 𝒔𝒖𝒅𝒅𝒆𝒏, 𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒂 𝒘𝒂𝒍𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑷𝑺𝑨: 𝒂 𝒃𝒍𝒐𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒖𝒑 𝒕𝒐𝒐 𝒎𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒔𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐𝒐 𝒎𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏.”

The story revolves around Emoni, a single teenage mother, barely 18, who has to care for her daughter while doing the final year of high school. She lives with her grandma who raised her after Emoni’s father left her with his mother after the death of his wife.

Emoni is passionate about cooking and she has been told that she has magic in her hands. She loves to experiment with her food by adding different spices and giving them a twist. When she learns that her school is organising a culinary arts program with a one week trip to Spain, Emoni couldn’t resist herself from joining. But there are financial challenges that she has to overcome along with the care of her daughter.

What to expect:

🥘 Engrossing narrative and wonderful characters: You will instantly love Emoni and would root for her. Malachi is super sweet and so is ‘Buela. All the characters felt like real-life people and I loved them to the core.
🥘 Important topics explored: like struggles of half-americans, teen pregnancy, stranded relationships, low-income and fighting with your own fears to achieve your dreams.
🥘 Wonderful writing and fast narration: If you have read The Poet X then you probably know how beautifully Elizabeth writes. This book is similar too. Beautifully and concisely written. The chapters are small and the pace is fast so it never let you feel bored. 🥘 All the food: of course there is so much food.. because Emoni is an aspiring chef.

I cannot recommend this book enough. It has everything I hoped for- good story, wonderful characters, mouth-watering recipes, diversity and real-life problems. It shows you what it is to achieve your dreams in-spite of difficulties. It shows you how to be passionate about what you want. This book definitely felt fresh to me and I ended up wishing more.

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And so my friends, I found my first 5-star read of 2020! Before starting this book, I had no expectations whatsoever, actually, I didn’t know what to expect but this book blew me. Thank you, Shealea @ Caffeine Book Tours for including me on #HailTheBitchQueen blog tour.

The story follows Talyien Orenar, fondly known as The Bitch Queen, who is the first queen of Jin-Sayeng and the last heir of the Oren-Yaro clan. She is the only living child of Warlord Yeshin, the man who started a civil war that almost torn Jin-Sayeng apart. She was betrothed to Rayyel Ikessar, the last heir of their rival clan, and their marriage was hoped to bring peace to the nation. But Rayyel leaves her, and their son, the night before their coronation, leaving her to rule the divided nation on her own. But five years later, Rayyel requests a meeting in an empire that was unknown to Talyien. But despite her doubts, she decided to go meet him in hope of reconciliation and bringing him back. However, their meeting didn’t go as expected and now Talyien is running for her life in a hostile nation without no one she could trust.

Now, if you haven’t put this series in your TBR yet or if you are still thinking about reading this one, then I am giving you 5 reasons why you should read this amazing book.

1. A STRONG & BADASS FEMALE LEAD
I loved Talyien. She is one of the most complex and interesting characters I have read recently. She is a ruthless ruler. She is loud, unapologetic, wants the respect she deserves. She is hot-minded and doesn’t think for a moment before reaching for a weapon if someone insults her. Though she is tough outside, secretly is a woman who is afraid for her child, who is insecure about her future, who wants to be with her husband and wants to live a normal life. Moreover, she wants someone trustworthy after the betrayals she had. She does live up to her name of the bitch queen.

2. FANTASTIC WORLD-BUILDING
The world-building is really great. The world that Villoso has created is rich and lush. There is no info-dump at all (considering there is a series written by author before this book) and world-building is spread throughout the story. She has revealed a little about the world at each point and that keeps the readers invested in the world-building. The world is heavily inspired by Filipino culture. The author has drawn on her experiences to brought us this imaginative universe. and her attention to detail is amazing. The issues like classism, bigotry, racism and xenophobia were heavily present in the book.

3. AN INTRIGUING SET OF SIDE CHARACTERS
All the side characters are distinct in their own ways and play an important part in the story. Actually, most of them aren’t likeable at all! Khine was my favourite. I think he was included to provide lighter moments in the story, what otherwise is a tensed one. I was constantly looking forward to reading Khine and Taylien’s interactions as they were so moody and interesting. What started as banters soon converts to friendship.

I am not sure what I feel about Rayyel though. I was frustrated of course because he left Taylien and then asks her to meet him. I hope we get to see more of Rayyel’s side in the next book. We don’t get to see much of Agos but I suspected his role in the story at the beginning itself. He was a childhood friend of Taylien and was sent away by her on the same night her husband left her. Though I liked him, in the beginning, I wasn’t sure how I felt about him at the end. Then we have Prince Yuebek. Oh God, I hated that man so much and at this point. I don’t even want to describe him apart from the fact that he was a madman.

I was amazed by the variety of characters Villoso had introduced. They were so different from each other and represented different sections of society. We have thugs, bandits, royals, priests, scholars, governors, con artist, warlords, city officials and whatnot.

4. FAST-PACED AND ENGAGING PLOT
Though this is a character-driven story, the plot is never dull. It is quite fast-paced and well, very intriguing. I was utterly lost in the story within the first few chapters. Though the beginning was a little slower, after 10% the pace was quite steady and by the end, it was like the real action was happening there.

Talyien’s journey was the one to remember. You will feel yourself with her at every moment. There are so many twists and turns and each of them made me worried for her. I can say there was no room for me to catch my breath. One after the another, bad things were happening to Talyien and she was facing so many obstacles and that kept me turning the pages. I was afraid for her, for her life. I wanted to see her with people she could trust. But at every point, there were more surprises.

Throughout the story, we get flashbacks of Talyien’s past–the moments she spent with her father, how she met Rayyel and how their relationship progressed–and these flashbacks help the readers to connect with Talyien in a better way. Those flashbacks show how lonely she is and how much she misses the assistance of her father, how much she missed her partner. And then you would certainly feel for her.

5. AMAZING WRITING AND CLEVER USE OF FIRST-PERSON POV
The writing is one of the strongest points of the story. It is difficult to see a first-person POV being handled so well in an adult fantasy. Actually, I think this story worked BECAUSE the narrative was told in the first person. It was the requirement to see the world from Taylien’s eyes to understand her better. Though the story is mostly dark and tensed, Villoso threw some humour here and there and I cracked up at a few places. Those light moments were definitely needed in the story.


Overall, The Wolf of Oren-Yaro is a mesmerizing story of an ambitious Queen and the efforts she has to make to survive and save her nation from another war. She is fierce, badass, graceful and ruthless. With an amazing world-building, fast-paced plot, wonderful side characters, gripping writing and most importantly a strong female lead, Villoso has woven a story that is hard to be forgotten. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series. If you are a fan of above-mentioned points, then this one is highly recommended.

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I had high hopes from this book. Though this book is an important literary piece, it was certainly not for me. I am always intrigued by the books which talk about the topics such as feminism, sexuality and gender identity. That's what motivated me to pick up this book too.

The idea behind this book is amazing. It talks about important topic. But poetry is subjective and though the poems for okay, I didn't enjoy them. Most of the poems were rather bland for my taste and were boring. Perhaps, I might not be able to grasp it fully even after I tried so hard. I found myself skipping through most of the pages.

This book wasn't for me, but it doesn't means that it's not for you. If this is something that interests you, then do pick it up.

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Full review on: Flipping Through the Pages
Actual rating: 4.5 Stars

[b:You Asked for Perfect|33299465|You Asked for Perfect|Laura Silverman|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1532058100s/33299465.jpg|54031886] exactly delivered what I expected and even more than that. This book took my heart. It was so adorable and cute. And not only there is a mushy romance, but it also talks about a very important issue which the young generation is facing – the high school stress and academic pressure.

* Amazingly relatable
The academics can really stress out students, especially if they are rigorous ones. Ariel is a senior in high school and he is trying to excel and do everything he can to get into Harvard. This, of course, results in a stressful life for him. He was even ashamed to admit to his parents and friends that he failed in his Calculus test and that he is stressing out. This whole Ariel situation was really relatable.

* Adorable M/M romance
The M/M relationship is in this book is so cute and adorable. Ariel is a bisexual Jewish boy who is always busy with his academics and trying to excel in it to go to Harvard. He never paid much attention to Amir, who was his neighbour. When Ariel fails in a Calculus quiz he asks Amir to tutor him and then he notices how crushworthy he is. The best thing is that the romance is low-profile. They weren’t kissing after every single page.

* All the diversity and cultural representation
This book has it all in terms of diversity and the representation is at its best. Almost every character in the book is a diverse character.
- Ariel is Jewish
- Amir, the love interest of Ariel, is Arabian and Muslim
- Sook, Ariel’s best friend, is Korean and sapphic
- Malka, a common friend of Ariel and Sook, is also Jewish
- Pari Shah, Ariel’s friend and competitor, is Muslim
- Ariel is bisexual, Amir and Sook are homosexual

Ahh, so much diversity and representation, right? I don’t know much about Jewish culture but knowing about so many Jewish things made me so happy. All the synagogue talks were interesting. And all the Jewish FOOD? It made me so hungry. There were matzo ball soups and various other dishes, which I probably can’t pronounce 😀

* Wonderful characters and relationships
This book definitely has one of the best set of characters. I loved every single character. Ariel is just a stressed-out boy who would instantly make you feel for him. Amir is such an adorable one. He is softest and so well fitted with Ariel. I loved the relationship between Ariel and his little sister, Rachel. That definitely made me want a brother that I never had. He was so careful about his little sister and always made time for her.

Sook was Ariel’s best friend. She asks Ariel to help her with her band with Malka and Ariel agrees to it. Sook’s and Ariel’s relationship was friendship goals. Ariel considered Pari as his competition. They both were constantly competing with each other for the first position as a Valedictorian. Though she tried to be a good friend to Ariel, he was never at ease with her. But soon he realises that Pari too is living with the same stress as he is.

Ariel’s and Amir’s families were so amazing. There are only a handful of YA books in which we have awesome families and this one is definitely one of them. Ariel’s parents were so supportive of him when he came out in front of them years ago. When Ariel and Amir declare about their relationship, the reaction they gave were so adorable.

* All the HP references
Okay, so this book is full of HP references. Amir is a Potterhead and he used so many lines from HP. I haven’t read the complete HP series so obviously, I missed on many references. But if you are into HP then you are definitely going to enjoy all those references.

FINAL THOUGHTS
This is a book which would definitely make you happy and you shouldn’t miss this. With wonderful characters, diverse representation, adorable romance and relatable plot, this book is a complete package and will surely make you fall in love with it. I would definitely recommend this to every YA contemporary lover.

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