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alltheradreads's Reviews (1.9k)
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slow-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
sorry, y’all — this book was NOT IT. 👎🏼
i truly enjoyed fourth wing and was excited to dive into iron flame after the cliffhanger we were left on, but after reading nearly 400 pages and basically NOTHING HAPPENING, i skimmed the rest and called it a DNF. #noregrets
so disappointing. i wanted more! it needed a much tighter edit, much sharper storyline, clearer world building, more actual ACTION, stronger chemistry with xaden and violet, better dialogue, less reliance on elements that felt duped from other books/worlds/etc… I COULD GO ON.
swipe to see my feelings about this one, and some of my fave messages from pals commiserating about how truly not good it was. glad i’m not alone.
(i’m rarely a big ole book hater and truly believe all books have value and we all have our own experiences reading ETC so no shade if you liked this one, i just very much did not and at face value i do not think it was as well-written which was my main beef with it!!!)
i truly enjoyed fourth wing and was excited to dive into iron flame after the cliffhanger we were left on, but after reading nearly 400 pages and basically NOTHING HAPPENING, i skimmed the rest and called it a DNF. #noregrets
so disappointing. i wanted more! it needed a much tighter edit, much sharper storyline, clearer world building, more actual ACTION, stronger chemistry with xaden and violet, better dialogue, less reliance on elements that felt duped from other books/worlds/etc… I COULD GO ON.
swipe to see my feelings about this one, and some of my fave messages from pals commiserating about how truly not good it was. glad i’m not alone.
(i’m rarely a big ole book hater and truly believe all books have value and we all have our own experiences reading ETC so no shade if you liked this one, i just very much did not and at face value i do not think it was as well-written which was my main beef with it!!!)
celebrity fascinates me, mostly because it doesn’t impress me or appeal to me at all 🤷🏼♀️ i’ve never known how to answer when people ask who my celebrity crush is, because i just don’t get that into famous people?? ANYWHO this book was an interesting look at celebrity and who we idolize. written by the former editor of people, it took a pretty broad and sweeping approach, and mostly felt like a grandpa explaining social media and influencers (which, it was…) so i didn’t learn a whole lot, but there were moments that intrigued me along the way! i listened on audio (thanks to @librofm for the ALC!) and think i probably would have connected a bit more if i eyeball read it.
i had the audiobook of this one in my @librofm app for ages but seeing the physical book at the library recently sparked my interest in it, and i flew through it (mostly on audio!) last weekend. 🤩
it’s a story of a golden boy, newer actor and a more seasoned bad boy actor, cast as love interests in a queer romance movie, pushed to fake a relationship to boost the ratings and press for the film, when (SHOCKINGLY), they actually start to fall for each other. but! this one also goes SO MUCH DEEPER, really exploring trauma and ab—se, race and sexuality, family dynamics and self-confidence. it didn’t just rely on light and easy tropes, but really took a more nuanced, real, and gritty approach, which i appreciated and found impactful. check trigger warnings here, for sure.
it’s a story of a golden boy, newer actor and a more seasoned bad boy actor, cast as love interests in a queer romance movie, pushed to fake a relationship to boost the ratings and press for the film, when (SHOCKINGLY), they actually start to fall for each other. but! this one also goes SO MUCH DEEPER, really exploring trauma and ab—se, race and sexuality, family dynamics and self-confidence. it didn’t just rely on light and easy tropes, but really took a more nuanced, real, and gritty approach, which i appreciated and found impactful. check trigger warnings here, for sure.
one of my favorite ways to explore something i don’t know much about is through reading. when a friend brought up asexuality in a conversation recently and i realized how little i knew about the ace/aro spectrum (the A in LGBTQIA+!), i went looking for books with ace characters. i mainly listened to this one on audio (spotify audiobooks for the win!) but had grabbed a copy on @pangobooks too.
the representation in this one is great, with not just one but TWO ace characters, both giving different depictions of being asexual while dating, being in love, exploring relationships, and navigating emotions and emotions physical intimacy.
at the core, it’s a romance about two couples (a love square, really!) — “joy is in love with malcolm. malcolm wants to date summer. summer is in love with love. and fox is summer’s ex-boyfriend.” there’s fake dating, it all takes place over a weekend trip, it feels like a netflix movie waiting to happen, and i enjoyed it!
but also, a character named fox being a literal silver fox? really? 🙄
the representation in this one is great, with not just one but TWO ace characters, both giving different depictions of being asexual while dating, being in love, exploring relationships, and navigating emotions and emotions physical intimacy.
at the core, it’s a romance about two couples (a love square, really!) — “joy is in love with malcolm. malcolm wants to date summer. summer is in love with love. and fox is summer’s ex-boyfriend.” there’s fake dating, it all takes place over a weekend trip, it feels like a netflix movie waiting to happen, and i enjoyed it!
but also, a character named fox being a literal silver fox? really? 🙄
this book was a genre-bending, mind-blowing adventure that i am SO glad i picked up (at the rec of my friends at @bbgbbooks!) — it’s a dual-POV story of forgotten Black girls, haunted mansions and ghosts, trauma and horrors (but justice underlying it all), mother-daughter relationships, paranormal activity, psychics, and mediums… and so much more.
it did take a bit before i got into this one, but i’m glad i stuck with it, because the layers and twists and shocks got GOOOOOD and it was unlike anything i’ve ever read!
this truly felt like my first horror read, but also like an excellent psychological thriller, all while somehow still being YA?! 🤯
it did take a bit before i got into this one, but i’m glad i stuck with it, because the layers and twists and shocks got GOOOOOD and it was unlike anything i’ve ever read!
this truly felt like my first horror read, but also like an excellent psychological thriller, all while somehow still being YA?! 🤯
returned to the eden family (which i love!) to finish the series with this book (which i did not love!)
it might be my headspace and being generally not in a romance book mood, but the spark did not exist in this book for me. i didn’t buy into the chemistry at all. vera’s character felt so one dimensional and it felt like the plot was nonexistent until the last quarter and even then, it was so uneventful and slow and flat? i was disappointed and unimpressed! i truly loved most of this series so it was a bummer to end on a sour note but i have many other devney perry books i want to read eventually and i know she’ll redeem things!!
it might be my headspace and being generally not in a romance book mood, but the spark did not exist in this book for me. i didn’t buy into the chemistry at all. vera’s character felt so one dimensional and it felt like the plot was nonexistent until the last quarter and even then, it was so uneventful and slow and flat? i was disappointed and unimpressed! i truly loved most of this series so it was a bummer to end on a sour note but i have many other devney perry books i want to read eventually and i know she’ll redeem things!!