This atmosphere for this book reminded me of Coraline but with a haunted mansion. Schwab does an amazing job of using descriptions to let the reader feel embodied by the atmosphere in her stories. Olivia, the main character, is an orphan that reunites with her remaining biological family in Gallant. The prose depicts how smitten she is with everything about Gallant. Olivia's initial impression of Gallant is both magical and haunting and sets the stage for the events within the plot. Olivia's perspective was additionally interesting because she is mute. Descriptions of Olivia communicating include a lot of body language, which completely makes sense given her inability to speak. There are also a lot of moments in the story where Olivia is dismissed or ignored and it's a lot harder for her to garner attention due to her lack of speech. Her feelings of frustration are palpable through the text. It revisits the idea that disabled people often do not feel "seen" or "heard" both literally and figuratively.

There is a sense of mystery throughout the entire story. Unfortunately, the ending left something to be desired for me. I wish we had more moments between Olivia and her disgruntled cousin, Matthew. The plot points were all resolved, but it felt like there was not enough time left o ruminate on the aftermath of the climax. The ending felt rushed and like an epilogue would have been appropriate, but we didn't have one. That's the main reason I cannot rate this book higher. Despite this, I still feel that this is a worthwhile story if you're looking for something reminiscent of Neil Gaiman's writing with a dash of light mystery and horror.

This feels like a direct sequel to the 2012 video game, which I'm sure was the intention. We get some time back on the island of Yamatai and Lara reunites with some old colleagues. It feels like an extension of the video game plot mostly. It's fast paced, adventurous, and easy to get through. As is normal for Tomb Raider, the side characters are not particularly memorable. The plot mostly focuses on Lara in relation to the larger plot. It has a conclusive ending, but I will be picking up volume 2 in the future. If you liked the video game plot, you will likely enjoy this too.

This was such a refreshing hopeful read. There is so much love and support within this story that just made me so happy. There are moments where the main character must struggle with rejection and insecurity within themselves and from those around them. Despite this, in the end they have so many people that love them enough to put their prejudices aside and defend their right to be themselves. It was beautiful and gave me just what I needed when I picked it up. If you need a queer story to bring up your spirits, this is definitely what I would recommend.

This book is another grumpy sunshine story where the grumpy side of the relationship is actually the female lead. Lexie is very emotionally distant and cold. In response, Ethan was incredibly patient with her throughout the story. It was clear that Ethan is the more emotionally intelligent of the two and was able to see beneath Lexie's cold exterior pretty quickly. Lexie has a lot of trauma in her past that makes her keep people at arm's length. Some of this includes things like the drug addiction of a parent and a sense of abandonment from another parent. There is also a lot of discourse in the story pertaining to the stigma there is for certain chronic diseases. I feel that the author was able to make a lot of social commentary amongst the romance and I really appreciated it. The side characters were important in the context of the story and I feel like they were not undermined by the main plot. Overall, I thought this was a solid romance with prominent characters and I'd be happy to pick up another book by this author.

It was a delight to enter this magical world. I'm a sucker for portal fantasy and this setting explores three different worlds: White London, Red London, and Grey London. The characters all have distinct personalities, and they all piqued my interest from the start. Lila, Kell, and Rhy in particular make themselves stand out on the page. Lila and Kell have incredibly contrasting upbringings and there is a lot of social commentary pertaining to growing up with privilege and how that changes your outlook on things. Despite his more privileged upbringing, Kell still feels like an outsider in many ways. He has been blessed with the magic of a dying breed and has the love and support of his adoptive brother and parents. Still, he feels that the love his family has for him is conditional. This makes for very interesting character development for him as the stakes in the story get higher. Lila on the other hand, has never belonged and has been forced by circumstances to learn how to survive the world on her own. This makes her a great foil to Kell. She is one of the few people who treat him like an equal (other than his brother) and she consistently challenges him. It makes for a lot of interesting development in their relationship from strangers to friends. The villains aren't too far behind are incredibly memorable as well.

Additionally, the contrast between each London was palpable. For the scenes set in Red London you could feel the magic in the atmosphere. Grey London felt just as dull as Red London was vibrant. White London felt dangerous, imitating the tension I feel while watching a horror film. The descriptions really added to the reading experience and made it incredibly easy to differentiate the different Londons. 

Overall, this book and world were fun, interesting, and made me want to keep reading. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series, especially knowing that Schwab is currently working on more sequels. If you enjoy portal fantasies with interesting characters and great world building I would definitely recommend this one.

This is a very unique premise for a manga series. A cataclysmic event causes everyone in the world to turn to stone. Taiju, a high school student wakes up thousands of years later to find his friend Senku. Together, they work together to find a way to revive everyone else. The tone of the story is reasonably goofy, but it feels like that was definitely purposeful. I haven't grown particularly attached to the characters as of yet, but I do plan on continuing the series to see where it goes.

I had a fun time with this romance, but I think there are a lot of areas where I felt like it could have been improved. Tom, the male lead, is part of a famous boy band and now as an adult years later has founded his own music studio. The female love interest, Gwen, has known Tom for years as her best friend's twin brother. Gwen has always had a low opinion of Tom due to some misinterpretations of his behavior when they were younger. Tom, on the other hand, has always had a crush on Gwen. By an odd set of circumstances, they reunite as adults and Gwen mistakes Tom for his twin and her old best friend. 

There are a lot of subplots pertaining to the main character's relationships with the side characters. Tom has a very contentious relationship with his twin brother. It is clear that Tom wishes things between his brother and him were different and there is a lot left unsaid there. It is eventually revealed that a lot of this tension is based on jealousy and insecurity, but none of this is ever resolved within the story. I understand that the romance is the focus of this story, but I find value within the other relationships in stories like this. Tom's brother is also going through his own issues with his marriage. We never actually meet his wife or get any other details about that relationship. It is mentioned often enough within the story that I expected to learn more about it, but we never do. It really left me unsatisfied by the end. I'm hoping that there is a direct sequel to this book where we get to learn more about Tom's brother and his marriage. I enjoyed the romance overall, the subplots in the story just felt incomplete as written.

As a side note, there is some representation for ADHD and anxiety in the book. I have a lot of friends who have ADHD, anxiety, or both, and I appreciated seeing my friends represented in the book as I was reading it. 

I found the pacing of this book to be particularly irritating. The two leads have been best friends for years. The male lead particularly has been in love with the female love interest for a very long time. Most of the conflict in the story is due to miscommunication, but it persists throughout the entire book. I don't mind some minor miscommunication in stories like this as long as it doesn't last the entire length of the story. People in real life have trouble communicating all the time even in already established relationships. I don't think that is unrealistic. In this story in particular I just found it irritating. There are no sex scenes in the entire book and the couple essentially doesn't get together until the very end. I think I just felt that the level of conflict the couple had was not balanced out by the amount of time we spent with them as a couple. The lack of sex scenes isn't what bothered me, it was just the lack of payoff after all that grueling pining from both love interests. I might give this author another try in the future, but so far I was disappointed. 

This book fit pretty well into the grumpy sunshine trope. Mia is a very hopeful and optimistic female lead while Tyler is very reserved to the point of being rude at times. Thankfully, as Tyler gets to know Mia when they are forced to work together on a psychology study, he starts opening up. I think Mia really helps bring out the better parts of Tyler. I appreciated the interactions he had with his friend, Ethan, and his family because it revealed that Tyler could be sweet when he wanted to be. He has a complicated relationship with his parents because of some circumstances pertaining to his childhood. I think that the resolution of that conflict helped make Tyler's character more sympathetic and also added depth to the overall story. I'm looking forward to reading more books by Allie Winters, I had a really good time with this one.

This book was a poignant comparison of the caste systems in other parts of the world, particularly India, compared to the racial caste system that exists in the United States. The author postulates strong arguments for the existence of a covert caste system based on race in the U.S. She gives examples of her personal experiences in India with caste as well as historical and legal evidence. There is a plethora of sources provided within the book, which I highly appreciated. I felt that it was very informative yet easy to understand. The chapters were organized in a way that made sense to me. I believe it offers a more international perspective on social hierarchy while still bringing it back to its context within the U.S. There were some minor portions of the book where I think the perspective was a bit limited by the author seeing things from an American perspective. However, even then, it's nowhere near as bad as other books I have read by Americans pertaining to race and its role within social issues in the U.S. compared to other nations. Overall, a very solid read with a different perspective on racial issues.