I've been trying to read more sci-fi recently and I think this is a great choice if you're trying to get into the genre. The world building is reasonably simple but still feels adequate for a space opera. The characters are also individually interesting. I had a lot of fun seeing Veronica, Loch, and Rhys interact with each other. Loch and Rhys have known each other for a long time and their relationship is reminiscent of brothers who like to get on each other's nerves. Loch is the typical charming fugitive. Rhys is our illegal contraband dealer looking for ways to make his life more interesting. Ada is a clever and resourceful princess on the run from an unwanted arranged marriage. Veronica is an ingenious businesswoman who bonds with Ada over their shared experiences. Loch and Ada become romantically as they are forced into situations where they quickly learn to trust and depend on one another. Their relationship happens within a relatively short span of time, but it is developed well throughout the course of the book. By the end of the story all of the characters find a family with each other. Definitely recommend this one if you enjoy the found family trope. 

Additionally, there is also a lot of discourse pertaining to the military and how politics plays a role in the ethics involved in that organization

for example, experimentation within the military

. There are also a lot of examples within the story of people that insatiably want power even at the cost of their morality. In fact, political greed is the whole reason our main character Ada is on the run. I appreciated that we get to meet members of Ada's family that are both understanding of her and love her, and others that want to manipulate and use her for their own gain. It paints a nuanced picture of what a lot of real families are like. Ada and her sisters clearly love each other, and their relationship helps balance out their more cold and tense relationship with her father. The political maneuvering that Ada has to do to ensure the safety of those she cares about while also protecting herself helps us see her intelligence and competence. Meanwhile, the way some of her family members are willing to use her as a political pawn show just how greed can really bring out the worse in people, even family. It makes for interesting character development and overall story.

This story has more focus on romance and character development than plot. However, it never felt like the plot wasn't moving forward or slowed down by the interpersonal relationships. If anything, it feels like it added depth to the events within the story and raised the stakes. I'm definitely looking forward to see how the plot continues to develop and I hope we get to see some side characters more in future books.

This is one of the best modern poetry collections I have found. The theme of the poetry collection is something that made me feel seen as someone who is of a mixed racial/ethnic background. There is a lot of commentary on racism, interracial relationships, cultural appropriation, police brutality, etc. There is one poem that really hit home for me as someone who is racially ambiguous. It pertains to a speaker who white passing who has their experience as a mixed person erased because of how they are perceived racially. I have had people try to erase my identity because of my ethnic/racial ambiguity. I think that as our society becomes more mixed racially and ethnically this will become a more common issue and I think it is a topic addressed beautifully here. 

The poetry flows very well greatly due to Jogia's efforts to have consistent rhyme patterns within each of his poems. They all tell a story, some inspired by other people's stories, and some inspired by his own life. The book feels incredibly personal with photographs of Jogia with his family and at various points in his childhood. There are also intermittent paragraphs of prose that add context to some of the poems both from Jogia's perspective and that of others with similar experiences to him. This book felt like a labor of love and I feel it warrants owning a physical copy because it reads like an art piece. I'm hoping that he publishes more books in the future because he is a very talented poet.

I'm very happy with this interpretation of these characters. It still captures the spirit of the mainstream comic book characters while catering to young adults. Beasty Boy is a  very charming character, but Raven and him have a bit of a rough introduction. Eventually, they decide to spend the day together since they both have time to kill and find that they have more in common than they expected. They build a rapport that quickly turns into a friendship. Raven is a very reserved person compared to Beast Boy. Her interactions with him bring out the more emotional parts of her. He helps her have fun, laugh a little, and remember to be a teenager. It makes it easy to ship them as a couple.

Additionally, I appreciated how Raven's sister and a new character were introduced into the narrative of the story. It felt seamless while not taking away focus from the main plot. I'm looking forward to seeing how the plot will progress as well as the relationships. This volume was probably my favorite installment so far.

I was super happy to see Damian in this issue. I didn't actually recognize him at first. There are easter eggs referring to Batman and Talia al Ghul which was great as a long time fan of the more mainstream iterations of these characters.

This was one of the most fun books in the series I think. We follow two couples as we are following twins Richard and Lucian and their respective love lives with Celia and Phyllida. The book starts off in the past, which I feel helped give some context as to how Celia became so infamous. It also withheld just enough that it made me want to continue reading to get the full context of what she did. Eventually you find out that she played a prank that was intended for Richard that unintentionally forced Lucian to marry Phyllida against his wishes. The author does a good job using descriptions to give you insight into how characters may be feeling. There were moments where there were descriptions of body language for some characters that revealed their romantic inclinations or true intentions. 

This at its heart is a redemption story for a former mean girl. Celia shows tremendous amounts of character growth and she has become a better person in the present compared to who she was in the past. There is also commentary in the book about men in positions of power abusing their power as well as sexual assault and abuse. There is vast commentary on sexism and how women are treated within a patriarchy. Obviously this is a romance, so there is a happily ever after ending where the main heroines find men who treat them as equals and love them as they are. However, the message of how damaging the patriarchy is, particularly to women, is not lost because of this. I appreciated getting to know these identical twins and how despite being so different they have a loving brotherly relationship. I can't wait to read other books by this author.

The intended audience for this book I would say is probably late middle school to early high school students. The world building in the world is interesting whilst being whimsical. The characters are also fun and easy to distinguish from one another. There is a strong emphasis on familial relationships and friendship over any kind of romance. I'm not sure if a romance develops later on in the trilogy, but for now it seems that the relationships are mostly platonic. There is an entire world left to explore in this world and a lot of politics at play that drive the plot forward. I appreciated the moments of adventure sprinkled in between moments of exposition. It helped keep the story interesting and we switched back and forth between characters which also helped with pacing. Overall, I think this book series is unique in terms of the world building and that the story is interesting enough to be worth a try. Again, it's very light hearted because it is intended for a younger audience, but I don't think that takes away from the fun of the story at all.

The fairies in this story are very traditionally cruel, arrogant, frivolous and selfish. The main character, Isobel, is a human painter who often paints portraits for them. This is how she meets the faerie prince, Rook. Once she paints a portrait for him it essentially flips her life upside down. The story feels like a fairy tale in terms of its narration. However, we do get a fair amount of characterization for the characters. They feel fleshed out and their motivations are complex, but clear by the end of the story. Everything is told from Isobel's perspective which makes the fairies seem that much more terrifying and intimidating yet beautiful and fascinating at the same time. There is a lot of political scheming behind the scenes and Rook and Isobel must find ways to work together to survive the viciousness of fae society. Their relationship develops quickly but is done in such a way that it feels organic. I thought the world building and premise were interesting and very intelligent by the end. I'm looking forward to reading more books by Margaret Rogerson. I think she excels at encapsulating the vibes of a modern fairy tale in ways that are intriguing and pull you into the story.

This book feels like a love letter to complicated family relationships. Noah and Alexis have been best friends for years and you can tell how in tune they are to each other's needs through their interactions. The story has a strong focus on male friendship through Noah's relationships with his friends. Alexis also has a lot of support from many women and vice versa. She is a survivor of sexual harrasment/assault and has support activities in the cafe she runs (e.g. yoga). She also finds out about her biological father's identity which throws her life upside down. Through it all, Noah and Alexis never stop feeling like friends, it just feels like their romance adds an extra layer to the relationship that they already had. Both of them also have insecurities related to their relationships with their fathers which add to the things they have in common. Overall, I appreciated that Alexis' complex relationship with her father felt realistic and tangible. Not everything about their encounter was fuzzy and sweet. Both her new family and her are imperfect people who are willing to make amends, and sometimes that is enough. If you're into a best friends to lovers romance with a subplot about found family, this might be for you.

This was an open ended conclusion to a great run for this team. They feel a lot more comfortable with each other now that they have been to other planets and back. Teen Lantern gets a bit more backstory and is able to convince John Stewart that the she is deserving of the ring. Additionally, Drake finally goes back to his Robin alter ego. I personally thought that the switch to the Drake alter ego was not expanded upon enough, so I don't mind that it was short lived. However, it did make for inconsistent storytelling and makes me wonder if the run was just cut short and the writer had to rush that plot point. Bendis' writing is always a bit hit or miss but I'm happy to say that this is a hit for me.

My parents are immigrants and it was really nice to see Catalina's perspective as an immigrant as well. Within her career she must confront discrimination because of her nationality and her gender. There are multiple examples of this within the book. She starts off disliking Aaron, the male lead, because he made a terrible first impression and comes off as cold and distant. Despite the negative impression, Aaron is actually quite helpful and professional coworker. However, for a major portion of the story, Catalina is too hard set on her initial impression of Aaron to see his more positive characteristics. As a reader, it was pretty clear from the beginning that Aaron was interested romantically in Catalina. This becomes especially clear when he is offers her a deal to go to Spain as her date to her sister's wedding for almost nothing in return. 

Once Catalina and Aaron arrive in Spain, they have many humorous interactions and the mutual attraction is obvious. The book takes its time building up their relationship and friendship before they finally become intimate. I appreciated the slow burn and I felt that it was worth it in the end. There is a subplot at the end involving a family emergency that I feel could have been expanded upon more. However, this did not take away from my enjoyment of the book overall. The side characters, many of which are Catalina's family, were super fun and felt very real. The only personal qualm I had was the conflict of interest that Aaron and Catalina dating is since one of them is the superior within the company. Again, this is just something that personally bothers me and is only a moderate plot point. Overall, if you like a slow burn romance that focuses on familial relations as well as the main couple, I would highly recommend this one.

The last installment for Kitsulletti had a stronger focus on the interpersonal issues of each member of the trio. Akara is forced to confront the loneliness he feels being far away from his mother and other family. We are introduced to his cousin Frog who serves as a young, inexperienced, but independent contrast to Akara. Throughout the book we see them grow closer and mutually offer each other familial support. Banks deals with his issues with his father and seems to feel much more secure within his relationship with Akara and Sullivan. They continue to be supportive of each other

which is especially important considering they are going to be parents now.

As each of them go through an individual journey they serve as supportive anchors for each other and I appreciated seeing them all be there for each other at their most vulnerable.