alltheradreads's Reviews (1.9k)

thanks to both @librofm for the ALC and @vintageanchorbooks for the copy of this one! i’ve read two of irby’s books now and determined her writing style and humor just doesn’t click with me. both books have had r—pe mentioned really casually or in a joking manner and that’s just something i cannot excuse or tolerate. 🙅🏼‍♀️ this was a DNF for me, as i realized i wasn’t enjoying it and didn’t like how it was making me feel! 

i’ll never stop loving the bergmans and wanting to be part of their family!!! ziggy’s story was the stuff of dreams, i mean, the brother’s best friend? a hockey player?? A BAD BOY?!? with celiac?! SIGN ME THE HECK UP. i love ziggy and also want to BE ziggy to get my hands on seb, my GOSH.

phew, i loved it.

10/10. no notes. nobody does representation in books like @chloe_liese. biggest fan forever. 

CUTE and quirky and delightful and heartwarming and just such a joy to read!!! i love books like this! give them ALL to me. eleanor oliphant, harold fry, the reading list… i just adore spunky old people and found families and whimsical adventures of self-discovery! GAH 🥹

april’s pick for #alltheradreadsbookclub was a GREAT book club pick— it led to so much interesting discussion and was definitely one i’m glad to have been able to process with people! i’m loving the journey of picking book club reads and discovering what comes up when we chat, especially because i find it makes me a more thoughtful and intentional reader (and slower, too). 

i haven’t liked ng’s other books, but this one got ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ from me! definite handmaid’s take vibes, and so much that was eerily believable and sickening to connect to real events in (not so past) history. makes you think, for sure!

rachel lynn solomon writes GOOD romances, the kind i just looooove to devour-- full of fun and slightly quirky characters, great use of classic tropes, unique details, and awesome representation within her characters. this one had: OCD, anxiety, really healthy and open sex positivity (and a male character who STRUGGLED with sex and needed to be taught!!! we love to see a man on a journey!), a nerdy jewish male MC who loved (and i mean LOVED) lord of the rings and was an actor from a werewolf show (so cons abound!), a female ghostwriter who OF COURSE wants to write her own books and OF COURSE falls for the actor whose memoir she's writing.

tropes include (but are not limited to): one bed! third act break-up! a twist on a work colleague! one night stand! ETC

this was a fun one!! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

(releases july 4! thanks @netgalley for my ARC! you may or may not see this on an upcoming summer reading guide…)

a slow burn with LAYERS that were v confusing on audio (this is one to read the physical copy for if possible!), this was an interesting plot premise centered on a villa in italy where murders occurred. it never quiiiite blew me away and the ending felt too predictable for me personally but it was a ⭐️⭐️⭐️ experience overall. i think reading vs listening might have added a star though! 🙃

his book just busted my heart OPEN and i am now in a million pieces. wow wow wow.

first of all— adelaide has been my #1 future baby girl name since i was a kid, so i instantly loved this one purely for the title.

secondly— i have never— NEVER— seen so much of myself in a character. so many scenes from this book could have been straight from my own life. and i say that with heaviness, because they are the things of pain and abuse, deep depression and grief, mental illness, wrestling with shame and just wanting to be done with it all.

half of my tabs as i read flagged things that broke my heart, made me cry, made me remember, brought back the anger and grief and remnants of my own abuse. and half were things that gave me hope, felt like love, were glimmers of goodness and joy and light and beauty. this book felt like such a twist of both.

i don’t know if i can find adequate words for what this book meant to me. for how beautifully adelaide’s story unfolded, even alongside (and because of, and in response to) the total bullshit thrown at her from other people who claimed to but didn’t love her. for how it feels to find a character so like yourself, and to see her not only survive, but heal, and come to find love for herself. for how it feels to be reminded that the same can be true for you, too.

what a gift. what a story. what a character.

thank you, @geewheeler, thank you.

i loved it. all of it. i wanted to speed up the (incredible julia whelan’s) audio just to get more of it into my bloodstream faster, but also wanted to savor every bit of it. (thanks @librofm for the ALC! #partner)

emily henry spins gold with her words, in the way she crafts places and spaces so magical and tangible you feel a part of them just by listening (aka reading). her characters are warm and real and tangled up in each other in all the best ways, and i will ship them all so hard forever and ever. 

this one had me feeling on the edge of frustration (gloriously so!) by how the story unraveled and the details were revealed, which i truly loved. i honestly didn’t know if a HEA was coming or not, and the ending was just: 😥🥹😭

i related SO MUCH to harriet and felt all the more connected to this book because of it, and i can’t wait to instantly reread it and highlight the HECK out of it when i get my physical copy. 

the trio of friends at the heart of this book made my heart so happy, even when they ebbed and flowed— looooove seeing female friendships depicted with realness like this. 

gah, i could go on and on about my love for this gem.

what a DELIGHT.

this one had good bones (summer camp! townies + campers! a trio of bffs! teen drama! secrets!) but it fell a bit flat for me, feeling slow and not quiiiiite as twisty as i was expecting. my mind spun off so many side plots that i honestly think would have made this one a stunner. 💁🏼‍♀️ the ending let me down sadly! anyone else agree?!